T20 World Cup | Team Analysis: South Africa vs Bangladesh

South Africa will be looking to keep their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign alive when they go against Bangladesh in match 30 of the tournament at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

South Africa head into the match on the back of two wins following a loss in their tournament opener. The Proteas tasted a loss against Australia in their first match of the World Cup. But the Temba Bavuma led side bounced back hard as they next defeated West Indies and Sri Lanka. But South Africa are still not guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals. But a win against Bangladesh could take them near to the semis.

Bangladesh meanwhile have struggled since qualifying for the ‘Super 12’ stage. Bangladesh have played three games in the ‘Super 12’ stage against Sri Lanka, England and West Indies and have lost all three of them. The three losses have ended their chances to qualify for the semi-finals. Bangladesh will be looking to salvage some pride from their remaining two games.

South Africa strengths:

South Africa’s bowlers are in good form. In the team’s previous game against Sri Lanka Tabraiz Shamsi and Dwayne Pretorius picked 3 wickets each. Pacers Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have 5 wickets and 2 wickets respectively. Spinner Keshav Maharaj has 3 wickets to his name this tournament. Part time spinner Aiden Markram has chipped in with few economical overs in the previous two games.

South Africa weaknesses:

South Africa seem to be unsure about its opening combination. In the three matches, South Africa has seen three different batting combinations. Against Australia, Quinton de Kock opened the innings alongside Temba Bavuma. In the game against West Indies, Bavuma and Reza Hendricks opened the innings. In the previous game against Sri Lanka de Kock opened the knock with Hendricks. Constant changes at the top of the order suggests that the team is still unsure about the batting positions of many batters.

Bangladesh strengths:

Bangladesh will be counting to the good form of captain Mahmudullah, Mohammad Naim and Mushfiqur Rahim with the bat. The three are the team’s leading run scorers.

Bangladesh weaknesses:

Bangladesh have been suffering from the bad habit of losing wickets in the Powerplay overs. In the 6 games the team has played so far in this tournament the team has lost 10 wickets. The loss of early wickets is putting pressure on the middle order.

Head-to-head

Matches played: 6

South Africa wins: 6

Bangladesh wins: 0

Form Guide:

South Africa: W-W-L-W-W

Bangladesh: L-L-L-W-W

Pitch and conditions

Of the eight T20 World Cup 2021 matches played at this venue, six have been won by the sides chasing a total. The average first innings total of the eight games played here is 131. So the numbers suggest that pitches at the venue become easier to bat as the match progresses.

The afternoon will be warm and sunny. The temperature is expected to be around 33°C with humidity level around 57%.

Team News

No injury concern for South Africa.

Bangladesh have dealt with a big blow as star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been ruled out of the remainder of Bangladesh’s matches in the World Cup due to hamstring injury. Shamim Hossain is set to replace Shakib in the Bangladesh XI. Nurul Hasan is still unfit to play.

Deccan Herald’s Dream XI

Mohammad Naim, Quinton de Kock (wk), Soumya Sarkar, Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, David Miller, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman, Kagiso Rabada

Impact player for South Africa

Tabraiz Shamsi: The No. 1 T20I bowler in the world, Tabraiz Shamsi has picked 32 wickets this year which is second highest.Shamsi showed great form with the ball as he picked 3 wickets for just 17 runs against Sri Lanka.

Impact player for Bangladesh

Mahmudullah: Bangladesh cricket fans will be looking for something magical from skipper Mahmudullah. The all-rounder is Bangladesh’s leading run scorer with 150 runs and a high score of 50. Mahmudullah can swing hard in the death overs.