DHARAMSALA, India — It all comes down to this one game in Group A as hot favourites Bangladesh take on the Gulf’s unlikely heroes of Oman in a showdown for the solitary spot in the Super 10s.
Bangladesh have shown their might already and on the back of their superb Asia Cup run to the final they have despatched Netherlands and made a statement in the 8 overs possible against Ireland.
Tamim Iqbal starred in both outings and how he fares could well determine the outcome of this match if Oman to perform as they did against Ireland.
In that memorable debut, the Omanis fought for every ball and showed an immense level of skill that caught many, including Ireland, off guard.
The camp has been confident leading up to this match, saying they are more than capable of beating Bangladesh.
Having never previously tested themselves against a full-member side, Oman face the biggest test of the country’s young cricketing history.
Bangladesh have said they will not be taking anything for granted and are well prepared to take on and beat Oman.
If they are unable to and Oman go on to qualify then it may well serve as the biggest achievement in associate cricket history.
WHAT THEY SAID
Masrafe Mortaza: “We both have three points but our run-rate is a bit higher. The way we are playing we feel the confidence is with us and we will do our best to make sure we win. I’ve been asking [umpires about Taskin and Sunny’s actions] but they said that it’s what it looks like [illegal] and it’s their decision so we have to go through the process and the system that the ICC have done is the process and that’s it.”
Sultan Ahmed: “We are pretty confident after beating Ireland and we are very confident that we, Insha’Allah, will beat Bangladesh in our last game. We played good cricket in Ireland and Scotland [to qualify] and we beat Hong Kong 3-2 in a series at ICC Academy. The atmosphere here is very good for us.”
If Bangladesh v Oman tomorrow is abandoned, then @BCBtigers go through to Super 10 with better Net Run Rate than Oman @2016wt20 #WT20
— Alan Wilkins (@alanwilkins22) March 12, 2016
LAST FOUR RESULTS
PREDICTION
Unfortunately for Oman, it is hard to see anything but a Bangladesh win in this one. Their cricketers have been incredible over the last 12 months and they seem to be peaking at the right time. Oman’s real hope of victory will be making early inroads and the wickets of openers Iqbal and Sarkar are crucial.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Bangladesh: Iqbal, Sarkar, Sabbir, Shakib, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur, Hossain, Mashrafe (c), Sunny, Taskin, Al-Amin
Oman: Maqsood, Khawar, Singh, Ilyas, Mehran, Kaleem, Amir, Sultan (c), Lalcheta, Ansari
