Kangaroos look to tame wounded Tigers as West Indies eye win against Lanka

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter
 
A stuttering Australia will be wary of an out-going Bangladesh when the two sides meet in their T20 World Cup match on Thursday.

Bangladesh will look to salvage some pride with at least one win after a dismal start to the Super 12 campaign, which saw them losing all their matches to remain at the bottom of the group with zero points after four straight losses.

Nothing short of talent, Bangladesh faced one problem throughout the tournament, they failed to click as a unit. When their bowlers delivered, batsmen failed to fire and when batsmen gave them enough runs on the board bowlers could not thwart the opponents.

Despite scoring a fighting total of 171 in their opener, Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka, which dented their morale so badly that they could never recover from there.

They came agonizingly close to beating West Indies as Liton Das kept the chase alive with a gritty innings before captain Mahmudullah failed to score required runs in the last over and they lost the match by three runs.

Those two losses derailed their campaign and their morale was bruised so badly that they panicked against a mighty South Africa and there was an abject surrender as the Proteas, like a ringmaster, tamed timid and tired Tigers.

But now they have nothing to lose and the wounded Tigers will look to regain the lost territory as they are lurking to launch an ambush and dent Australia’s hope to return home with some good memories and give their fans something to cheer for.

Bangladesh will have a psychological advantage going into the match, as they defeated Australia 4-1, in the recently-concluded five match T20 series two months before the World Cup.

But a lot has changed since then as they are not playing at home and have been depleted by the absence of Shakib Al Hasan and star opener Tamim Iqbal. Both were instrumental in their series win against Kangaroos.

On the other hand, Australia will feel the pressure as they have to win all their remaining matches to keep their hopes alive in the tournament.

England have already sealed their spot in the semifinals with four straight wins and now the fight is between South Africa Australia. Even if Australia reach eight points, they will hope England beat South Africa.

In case of tie on points, South Africa have chances of going through to the semis by virtue of a better run rate, which is beyond Australia’s reach in normal circumstances.

Australia will rely on their pacer to tame the Tigers from the beginning where as David Warner’s return to form is like an icing on cake for them. He can tear apart any attack and give a blazing start.

Steven Smith, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell make it one of the most formidable middle order. While Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood can rip through a stuttering Bangladesh batting line-up to give Kangaroos a silver lining.

Sri Lankan players gesture during their match against South Africa. Courtesy: Twitter

Elsewhere, West indies and Sri Lanka will look to sign off and on positive note and take some good memories home as both are out of contention for semi-final berth.

Lanka have lost three of their four matches while West Indies have procured juts two points so far after one win and two losses in their three games.

Even if West Indies win their remaining two matches, they will finish on six points along with Australia and South Africa, presuming, England will beat Proteas while Kangaroos will pip Bangladesh but lose to Caribbeans.

In that scenario, West Indies can not progress to the semis as both Australia and South Africa have far better run rates. So both Lanka and West Indies will look to sign off on winning notes.

West Indies after getting off to a horrific start against England in their opener could never get their foot on the ground in the Super 12 and did live up to the billing of being the defending champions.

They will look to better their record with two straight wins and return home with their heads held high like a knight who went down fighting but refused to surrender.

So there is still a lot to play for all the teams, some  will play to keep hopes alive, some for pride and others to take some positive from the showpiece event.