World Cup Fantasy Guru: Spin it 360
England v Bangladesh
Transfers made – 3; Transfers remaining – 19
David Warner out – Moeen Ali in
Aaron Finch out – Ian Bell in
Mitchell Starc out – Shakib Al Hasan in
Captain – Moeen Ali
Adelaide is again, like Sydney, a deck that guarantees plenty of runs, more so when two inept teams face each other. Spinners will come into the game, too. That would mean both Moeen Ali and Shakib Al Hasan will have crucial roles to play tomorrow. I don’t usually bring in Moeen into my team, as his technique is probably as bad as it can get against pace and swing, but you wouldn’t expect Bangladesh pacers to trouble him on a docile deck. Even if he gets out early, he has 10 overs of bowling to compensate for it.
Bangladesh batsmen do play spin well, but they lose their minds too. And if they chase, the scoreboard pressure will have a say on how effective the 27-year-old’s off-spin will be.
The quality that the England pacers possess, you can’t rule them out from turning it around tomorrow. Even then, they do not have the death bowling skills to trouble batsmen, which is where Shakib can come in handy. Apart from Moeen, James Taylor and Joe Root, the English batsmen don’t play spin very well. So, he could be amongst the wickets as well.
The third pick is the trickiest one. Eoin Morgan could blast Bangladesh even in this form, while Ian Bell, James Taylor and Joe Root could help themselves to an easy run-a-ball century. There are talks of Taylor being promoted to No.3 spot after the disaster of an experiment with Gary Ballance.
As simple as it may look, Root and Morgan are not straightforward picks: they may not get enough deliveries to create an impact and Root, in particular, needs time to settle. Bell, on the other hand, opens the innings and is guaranteed time at the crease. The right-hander is due for a big knock, and I don’t see a better opportunity than this for him to do well. Therefore, he would be my third pick.
India v Ireland
Transfers made – 3; Transfers remaining – 16
Moeen Ali out – Shikhar Dhawan in
Ian Bell out – Rohit Sharma in
Shakib Al Hasan out – Ravichandran Ashwin in
Captain – Ashwin (India bowl first)/ Rohit (India bat first)
The deck at Hamilton is a little slow, at least it was that way in the only match of the tournament played there. Even the South African pacers couldn’t do much in their match against Zimbabwe, so I don’t expect the Indian pacers to fare well either. Ireland batting line-up is packed with left-handers, none of whom are capable of playing off-spin; that would mean Ravichandran Ashwin can grab a couple of easy wickets and go on to do plenty of damage.
With India set to play two games in a 6-game period, it wouldn’t cost you much even if he fails to deliver against the Irish. Coming to the batting side of it, as I said in my previous article, Ireland have the worst bowling line-up in the tournament; Zimbabwe aren't far off, either. So, I wouldn't be surprised if I see a couple of double hundreds provided India bat first in both the matches. Who among Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will score is the difficult part.
Smaller grounds and good batting conditions guarantee a couple of centuries at least between these three batsmen in the two matches. So, I have decided to bring in both the Indian openers despite having Kohli already in my team.
Even if Ireland and Zimbabwe bat first, they have decent batting units to post 250 on the decks the two matches are going to be played. So, either way, you need to have all of them in the team.
I have Ed Joyce and Paul Stirling already in my team from Ireland, so don’t see the need for any other player.
Scotland v Sri Lanka
Transfers made – 0; Transfers remaining – 16
Captain – Dilshan (SL bat first)/ Malinga (SL bowl first)
Captain Angelo Mathews will be looking to strengthen his bowling following the hammering he received last time around at the hands of Australia. With 3 Sri Lankans – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga – in my team already, I would obviously not be looking for more players from this game.
I don’t really see any other player contributing much, too, except if Sri Lanka bat first; in which case, Lahiru Thirimanne could cash in on the weak Scotland bowling attack. I don’t have any plans to bring him though, as I see much better scoring options in the matches that follow this encounter. If you need a differential and you think you can afford him, get him in.
If Sri Lanka chase, you wouldn’t need any more players. As far as captaincy is concerned, it would be Dilshan for me if the Islanders bat first: scores runs and can come in handy with the ball. If they bowl first, though, I would go with Malinga. Scotland would not have seen much of the pacer and could lose their plot against him even if they are on the defence. Also, that he is a potential MoM contender makes it a tempting option.
The deck at Hobart, in general, offers plenty of runs.