GameDay Squad Cricket Match Preview: Bangladesh come up against South Africa in the 23rd match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Mumbai on the 24th of October.
Bangladesh played India in their fourth match of the CWC, and India won by 7 wickets. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. The Bangladesh openers put the Indian bowling attack under pressure early as they took the score through to 93 before Hasan was dismissed in the 15th over. Throughout the remainder of the innings Bangladesh lost wickets regularly and ended up being restricted to 256 at the end of the 50 overs. India was off to a great start again with the bat and moved through to 88 in the 13th over before Sharma was dismissed. Unlike the Indian bowlers, the Bangladesh bowling attack were unable to pick up regular wickets and India cruised through to the target of 257 in the 42nd.
The top performers in GDS for Bangladesh were.
Litton Das – 81 points
Mahmudullah – 75 points
Tanzid Hasan – 70 points
Mehidy Hasan Miraz – 66 points
Nasum Ahmed – 46 points
South Africa played England in their fourth match of the CWC, and South Africa won by 229 runs. England won the toss and elected to field first and it may have been the incorrect decision. South Africa lost de Kock on the second ball of the innings before Hendricks and van der Dussen put on 121 for the second wicket. South Africa continued to put together handy partnerships while ticking over their score at a good clip. Klassen and Jansen were outstanding in the last 15 overs and put on 151 runs for the sixth wicket. Klassen was the pick of the South African batters and made 109 off 67 balls. South Africa scored 399 off their 50 overs. England were off to a quick start over the first two overs but then the wickets started to fall. In the 17th over England were 100/8 before Atkinson and Wood made the South African bowlers really work for the last wicket. Topley was absent due to injury and South Africa bowled England out for 170 in the 22nd over.
The top performers in GDS for South Africa were.
Marco Jansen – 156 points
Heinrich Klaasen – 145 points
Reeza Hendricks – 116 points
Rassie van der Dussen – 84 points
Gerald Coetzee – 79 points
Wankhede Stadium and Pitch Information
In the last six matches played at the venue, four have been won by the team batting second. The average first innings score over the same time period has been 296 while the highest target chased is 281. The pitch has been great for batting in recent times and South Africa showed us how good it is to bat on in match 20 of the CWC by scoring 399 in the first innings. Teams have favoured bowling first in recent games but that may change after seeing what happened in the South Africa vs England match.
Bangladesh vs South Africa predicted XIs
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmudullah, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma/Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
Batters
The three batters that I am likely going to start will be Temba Bavuma/Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen and Najmul Hossain Shanto. Over the CWC these batters average the following points in GDS.
Temba Bavuma – 29 points
Reeza Hendricks – 116 points
Rassie van der Dussen – 66 points
Najmul Hossain Shanto – 26 points
In GDS there are seven players combined from Bangladesh and South Africa that have the batter position designation. Six of these seven players are predicted to play, three from both Bangladesh and South Africa. Going by how the match played out between South Africa and England, I’ll be favouring the top order batsman over the middle order batsman. With this being my strategy, this rules out Miller and Hridoy. van der Dussen is my first batter picked as he has been in the best form for the CWC. Either Bavuma/Hendricks will be joining van der Dussen in my starting XI as I prefer the South African batters on this pitch for this match. That leaves either Tanzid Hasan or Shanto as my third batter. Both players have both scored one half century this CWC but other than that they have been rather disappointing and have three scores each of 16 runs or less. To be honest, Miller has performed better down the order than these two Bangladesh batsmen and going by the stats he may be a better option. I just think at this stadium the batsmen batting higher up the order offer a higher ceiling. Even though Shanto has had three poor innings in a row, he will be my third batter as he has shown better form over the last 12 months compared to Hasan.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining batters for Bangladesh and South Africa in the following order. Tanzid Hasan, David Miller and Towhid Hridoy.
All-Rounders
The four all-rounders that I am likely going to start will be Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Aiden Markram and Marco Jansen. Over the CWC these all-rounders average the following points in GDS.
Shakib Al Hasan – 85 points
Mehidy Hasan Miraz – 90 points
Aiden Markram – 69 points
Marco Jansen – 110 points
In GDS there are seven players combined from Bangladesh and South Africa that have the all-rounder position designation. Five of these seven players are predicted to play, three from Bangladesh and two from South Africa. Mahmudullah is the odd one out for me as he has only bowled two overs all tournament. Markram hasn’t bowled at all but with him coming in at second drop, I believe he offers a far higher ceiling than Mahmudullah.
If you don’t have the suggested four players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining all-rounders for Bangladesh and South Africa in the following order. Mahmudullah.
Bowlers
The three bowlers that I am likely going to start will be Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. Over the CWC these bowlers average the following points in GDS.
Gerald Coetzee – 79 points
Kagiso Rabada – 87 points
Lungi Ngidi – 77 points
In GDS there are twelve players combined from Bangladesh and South Africa that have the bowler position designation. Seven of these twelve players are predicted to play, three from Bangladesh and four from South Africa. After seeing the South African seamers destroy the English top order, it’s hard to look past them for today’s match. It really depends on which team bats first. The above selections have been made assuming South Africa bats first. If they don’t Maharaj will likely come in for Ngidi and Islam might replace Coetzee. The only lock for me is Rabada.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining bowlers for Bangladesh and South Africa in the following order. Keshav Maharaj, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud.
Wicket Keeper
The wicket keeper that I am likely going to start will be Quinton de Kock. Over the CWC these wicket keepers average the following points in GDS.
Quinton de Kock – 92 points
Litton Das – 51 points
Heinrich Klaasen – 69 points
Mushfiqur Rahim – 53 points
These keepers have all featured with the bat at one stage or the other this CWC. Even though de Kock only scored 20 vs Netherlands and 0 vs England in his last two matches, I’m backing him to bounce back in this match.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining wicket keepers for Bangladesh and South Africa in the following order. Litton Das, Heinrich Klaasen and Mushfiqur Rahim.