Bangladesh will look to confirm their berth in the main draw of the ICC World Twenty20 when they will take on Oman in their last qualifying match in Dharamsala today.
The Tigers must beat the Arabian minnows or at least hope that the match gets washed out to give them a chance to join with cricket’s big boys in the next round.The match is historic one for Oman as they will face a Test playing country for the first time, though it is no less crucial for Bangladesh, who are expected to progress without any serious hiccup.
However, Bangladesh have a history of testing the nerve of their fans in similar games irrespective of the condition and the quality of the oppositions.
In the last ICC World Twenty20 at home they lost their final qualifier to Hong Kong when they also needed a win to make the other equation irrelevant.
Bangladesh still progressed by virtue of a better run rate but if Hong Kong could topple their score of 108 runs in 14 overs it would have been Nepal instead of the Tigers playing in the final round.
Though Bangladesh progressed but the defeat against Hong Kong came as morale blow, something which they could not recover from the rest of the tournament. They lost their all four matches without giving a fight.
Mashrafee bin Muratza will therefore look for not just a win, rather a convincing win which will give them a momentum going into the next round, where, if qualified, they will join Pakistan, India, Australia and New Zealand.
The biggest problem for Bangladesh is their lack of knowledge against an Oman side that started playing at the associate level only in 2015, having achieved their Twenty20 status in the previous year.
Oman have already achieved some remarkable success in their short cricketing history with win against Canada, Netherlands, Afghanistan and Ireland and will go into the match against Bangladesh with nothing to lose but everything to achieve.
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza said they have watched Oman’s two-wicket win over Irleand and added that Bangladesh must show a professional attitude if they are to beat the side.
‘We have watched their win against Ireland,’ Mashrafee said late on Friday. ‘They are off course a good team. But if we can hold the professional attitude I don’t think it will be a problem. We will plan against them just like we do against other major teams.’
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, fast bowling coach Heath Streak echoed the same words.
‘Oman have caused few upsets and beating Ireland is the big thing,’ said Streak. ‘So we are not taking them lightly at all.
‘We analyse them as much as we have worked against any big team like India and Pakistan.
‘Obviously we have very less information on them because they are not one of the bigger teams.
‘We studied their bowlers and batters as professional we can. We know it is a big game for Bangladesh so we are going to be hard in middle and make sure that we are qualified to the next round.’
Both Mashrafee and Streak confirmed Mustafizur Rahman is unlikely to play today as he is yet to recover from side strain. Streak said left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny should be available for selection after testing of his bowling action, though BCB’s cricket operation chief Akram Khan ruled out the prospect earlier.
-With New Age input
