Resolute Bangladesh face South Africa to square T20 record

Bangladesh have proved their might against top teams and risen to new ranks in one-day cricket over the past one year, taking a 2017 Champions Trophy spot by the scruff of the neck.

But their Twenty20 performance leaves a lot to be desired and they will look to put up a far better show against a daunting South African side in the series opener on Sunday.

The first of the two-match series starts at 1pm at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

The Tigers have to fight a mental battle with their listless record in the 20-over game.

​South Africa, who are fifth in the ICC T20I ranking, are light years ahead of them, in terms of statistics, but the hosts are on a roll.

History is against Bangladesh who have only one win in 24 encounters against the Proteas.

In the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean Islands, Mohammad Ashraful’s heroics took Bangladesh, who were led by Habibul Bashar then, to a 67-run maiden win over South Africa.

The opportunity to test their T20 skills against top international sides has been few and far between for Bangladesh. They have a subpar record of 12 wins in 42 T20Is.

More importantly, there has been no domestic 20-over tournament in Bangladesh for a while.

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) was played in 2012 and 2013 but it was shut down following a match-fixing scandal.

But a bunch of youngsters have injected new life into the team to drive them to new heights.

Soumya Sarkar, Mustafizur Rahman, Sabbir Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Jubair Hossain have given a fresh impetus to the team.

Seamer Mustafiz debuted against Pakistan in Bangladesh’s only T20I of the year in April. They won it by 7 wickets in dogged fashion.

Veteran Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir helped the side to smart from a top order collapse and shut Pakistan out with a century stand after the bowlers had laid the groundwork for the win.

Leg-spinner Jubair Hossain, who has not played a T20 at any level, may get his cap on Sunday.

South Africa, however, are one of the most successful teams in 20-over games.

The experiences of AB de Villiers, T20 captain Faf du Plessis, Jean-Paul Duminy and David Miller are well complemented by talents of Quinton de Kock, Wayne Parnell and Riley Rossouw.

Although South Africa visited Bangladesh for the 2011 World Cup and 2014 World T20, it is their first bilateral series since 2008.

The last encounter between the two teams was in 2011, when Bangladesh were bowled out for a paltry 78 to bow out of the showcase event.

The Mirpur pitch seemed to lack the bit of juice that was there during the Pakistan and India series.

The home side will not be complaining as South Africa got a good pace attack.

A slow, low pitch could just be the recipe the Tigers are looking to get the better of their formidable opponents.

Given the condition of the turf, the team think-tank may give Sohag Gazi a go along with Shakib and Arafat Sunny to bolster spin attack.

In that case, Rony Talukder and pacer Rubel Hossain could sit it out.

The hosts’ bowlers, however, will need to take out de Villiers early. The Proteas master blaster may promote himself to the top-order.

Although captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is banking on his bowlers to make things easier for the batsmen, their line-up looks quite capable of scoring big.

Incidentally, both teams have lost four of their last five T20 matches.​

The weather has been dry in Dhaka over the last few days but there are forecasts of rain in the evening.

So, the team winning toss might look to bat first.