Bangladesh vs Netherlands – ICC World T20, 2016

Bangladesh vs Netherlands – ICC World T20, 2016
Given their recent performances in T20Is, Bangladesh’s cricket is definitely on an upswing. With that comes the pressure of expectations. They will be playing their first game against Netherlands barely two days after losing the Asia Cup final.

Neither have they had time to practice and acclimatise to the conditions, nor have they had the time to recover from a heart-wrenching loss. But now they get into another important game and it is imperative for Mashrafe Mortaza to try and get the best out of his men.

The captain acknowledged that it wouldn’t be an easy task at all but also seemed upbeat about doing well after a string of good performances. Switching from underdogs to favourites in such quick time will not be an easy task but the squad contains a good mix of youngsters and experienced players suited to the format.

The conditions in Dharamsala might also favour their seamers, which boosts their chances further. A lot rides on the fitness of Mustafizur Rahman and it remains to be seen if he will be rushed back into the playing eleven after a side strain kept him out of the final stages of the Asia Cup.

Another team that has done appreciably well, and consistently so by making it to the final round of the ICC events is Peter Borren’s Netherlands. While the captain was aggrieved at not getting to play a lot more, they cannot afford to think about the what-ifs right now.

If they do make it to the final round, they will face tougher competition but this is motivation enough for them to do well. That they have raised their level amongst the peers is a good sign for cricket in the country and a good show here might well help them realise Borren’s wish of not having to play such rounds in the future.

For that to happen though, there is a definite need to change perceptions. That might be easier said than done but for now they will be concentrating on the tougher task of playing a relatively stronger Bangladesh in their first game, and try and cause and upset.

Teams:

Netherlands (From): Wesley Barresi(w), Peter Borren(c), Ben Cooper, Tom Cooper, Michael Rippon, Roelof van der Merwe, Vivian Kingma, Timm van der Gugten, Stephan Myburgh, Mudassar Bukhari, Pieter Seelaar, Logan van Beek, Max O’Dowd, Ahsan Malik, Paul van Meekeren

Bangladesh (From): Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Arafat Sunny, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Abu Hider