ICC World Cup 2019 AUS vs BAN: Preview

Australia vs Bangladesh -- a match that has the potential to decide the course of the second half of the tournament. Both the teams are in form and win for either will give a massive advantage in the race to seal a berth in top four of the points table.

Fourteen years back, the two teams met in the NatWest Series match that is famously remembered for Mohammad Ashraful's heroics and Bangladesh pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the history of cricket.

Fast forward to 2019, and the paradigm and dynamics of the teams have changed. Bangladesh have emerged as a force to reckon with in world cricket, and they are showing their mettle in the ICC World Cup 2019.

Shakib Al Hasan, their talismanic all-rounder, is in a rich vein of form with both bat and ball. He is the highest run-getter of the tournament so far with 384 runs from four matches including two centuries. He has also picked up five wickets. Soumya Sarkar has been giving the team a blistering start at the top of the order, but his failure to score big runs can hurt Bangladesh against strong bowling units. Tamim Iqbal has shown hints of returning to form, and he would love to make a mark in arguably his last World Cup. Liton Das' 94 not out against West Indies gave the middle order a much-needed boost and with Mahmudullah Riyad present lower down the order, the batting line-up looks strong and threatening.

The Bangladeshi bowlers need to step up and deliver a pitch-perfect performance against an explosive Australian batting order. David Warner and Aaron Finch are providing them a blistering start with Steve Smith at number 3 slowly and surely returning to form. In the middle order, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, and Usman Khawaja have chipped when needed.

Australia can take heart from the fact that they have managed to eke out four wins from their five matches without delivering superlative performances. The bowlers, led by the in-form Mitchell Starc have performed admirably and Australia will bank on them once again to thwart Bangladesh and reduce them to a below par score.

Match time: 3:00 PM (IST)

Where to watch: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada, Star Sports 1 Bangla

Team news: Bangladesh may look to field an extra pacer and include Rubel Hossain in place of Mehidy Hasan Miraz. In that case, Mahmudullah Riyad must chip in some overs with his off spin.

For Australia, Marcus Stoinis has recovered from injury and can replace the struggling Shaun Marsh in the starting eleven.

Pitch report: It was in the Trent Bridge only that England posted the world record ODI score of 481 runs against Australia last year. The pitch is expected to be an absolute belter for the batsmen.

Weather report: There is a forecast of brief shower, but that will not threaten the match

Probable XI:

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Liton Das, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan/Rubel Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman

Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch(c), Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey(wk), Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson

Betting odds: According to Oddschecker, Australia 2/11, Bangladesh 9/2