Getty Oman's Bilal Khan bowls during the ICC mens Twenty20 World Cup cricket match between Oman and Papua New Guinea at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat on October 17, 2021. (Photo by Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFP) (Photo by HAITHAM AL-SHUKAIRI/AFP via Getty Images)
Bangladesh have everything to play for when they face co-hosts Oman in the 2021 ICC T20 Men’s World Cup on Tuesday. The Tigers slipped to a surprising defeat by six runs against Scotland in their opening qualifier, but the squad still features an impressive array of talent. Specifically, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim will be out to prove they can still form a productive partnership with the bat. They struggled on Sunday, but Aqib Ilyas and Jatinder Singh had no such problems when they inspired Oman to beat Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets.
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Oman vs Bangladesh Preview
Ilyas and Singh were stunning as openers, combining for an unbeaten 131. Singh was the more prolific, hitting an impressive 73 off 42 balls. Ilyas did his part by chipping in with a classy half century.
While the Oman top order did its part, the performance of Zeeshan Maqsood was the true key to victory. The skipper was deadly with the ball, taking a quartet of wickets and allowing a measly 20 runs during four sensational overs. His spinning deliveries from his left arm wrecked the PNG order, particularly during the 16th over, when Maqsood took three wickets to set up a chase easily within Oman’s range.
Bangladesh should provide tougher opposition at the wicket, provided Al Hasan and Rahim can rediscover their swagger. Of the pair, Rahim was the more steady, although the 34-year-old hardly dominated during a pedestrian 38 runs from 36 balls. It wasn’t the ideal way for the Tigers to ease into the middle order in style, but the number was at least better than Al Hasan’s 20 from 28.
Better showings from both would make life easier for captain Mahmudullah, who could only muster 23 runs off 22 balls. It should concern Mahmudullah how much his team struggled with spin against Scotland. Chris Greaves, a deft leg-spinner, claimed a pair of wickets, while the left-arm of Mark Watt yielded an economy rate of just 4.75 runs during four overs.
Those numbers are good news for Maqsood, fellow leg-spinner Khawar Ali and Bilal Khan. The latter bowled PNG’s Tony Ura for a duck before dismissing Simon Atai. Khan’s varied pace will offer a good changeup to the Maqsood spin and keep the members of the Bangladesh order off balance.
The Tigers also have their own array of spin bowlers who will be better equipped than PNG to unseat Oman’s openers. Mahedi Hasan was the star against Scotland, taking three wickets, including bowling George Munsey. Hasan also dispatched Matthew Cross lbw and ultimately allowed just 19 runs from four overs.
Al Hasan helps round out a terrific attack. He enters the match in record-setting form, having become the leading wicket-taker in men’s T20 internationals. The historic moment was confirmed when Al Hasan spun a slow ball toward Michael Leask, who took an errant swing and was caught out by Liton Das.
Highest wicket-takers in men’s international cricket:
Tests: Muthiah Muralidaran, 800
ODIs: Muthiah Muralidaran, 534
T20Is: SHAKIB AL HASAN, 108* 🙌
The bowlers look certain to settle this one, so it will be important who goes first at the wicket. Maqsood opted to bowl first last time out and his decision paid off when PNG were held to just 129. It’s difficult to see Bangladesh posting such a lowly total, though, not with the nation’s hopes for qualification on the brink.