Australia enter the Super 8s with four wins in the group stage but they run into an unpredictable opponent in Bangladesh, who have the firepower to put up a tough fight.

LAST 5 MATCHES

AUSTRALIA: WWWWW

BANGLADESH: WWLWW

THE LIKELY PLAYING XIs FOR AUSTRALIA & BANGLADESH

AUSTRALIA likely XI

Batters – David Warner, Travis Head, Tim David

All-Rounders – Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis

Wicketkeeper – Matthew Wade

Bowlers – Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

BANGLADESH likely XI

Batters – Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali

All Rounders – Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah

Wicketkeeper – Litton Das

Bowlers – Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman

Statistical Performance (Australia)

1. Marcus Stoinis

Marcus Stoinis is in top form for Australia in this T20 World Cup. He is one of the top-three run-scorer in the tournament. In his last three innings, Head has scored 156 runs.

MARCUS STOINIS IN T20 WORLD CUPS

INNINGS – 11

RUNS – 362

AVERAGE – 60.33

STRIKE RATE – 166.05

50s/100s – 3/0

2. Adam Zampa

Adam Zampa will be a key factor for Australia in the Super 8s. The West Indies wickets will suit the spinners, and this is where Zampa will be effective. In this T20 World Cup, Zampa has taken 9 wickets so far.

ADAM ZAMPA IN 2024 T20 WORLD CUP

INNINGS – 4

WICKETS – 9

STRIKE RATE – 10.66

ECONOMY RATE – 5.87

AVERAGE – 10.44

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Australia)

1. Travis Head

Travis Head opening the innings for Australia in this T20 World Cup, has scored 148 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 157.44. Head is one of the top run-scorer in the tournament.

2. David Warner

Turning up in his last T20 World Cup for Australia, David Warner would like to make a mark in the tournament. In his last eight matches, Warner has scored 321 runs at a strike rate of 158.12.

Statistical Performance (Bangladesh)

1. Towhid Hridoy

Bangladesh would expect Towhid Hridoy to perform well in this crucial Super 8 match against Australia. Hridoy is a talented batter and has had good starts in this T20 World Cup but has not been able to capitalize on them. Antigua’s pitch will suit his style of batting.

TOWHID HRIDOY IN 2024 T20 WORLD CUP

INNINGS – 4

RUNS – 95

AVERAGE – 23.75

STRIKE RATE – 125.00

50s/100s – 0

2. Tanzim Hasan Sakib

Tanzim Hasan Sakib has been one of the successful bowlers for Bangladesh and has taken nine wickets so far in this T20 World Cup.

TANZIM HASAN SAKIB IN 2024 T20 WORLD CUP

INNINGS – 4

WICKETS – 9

STRIKE RATE – 10.00

ECONOMY RATE – 4.80

AVERAGE – 8.00

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Bangladesh)

1. Mustafizur Rahman

For Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman would be the hot pick. He is coming into the tournament after a successful IPL season. In this edition of the T20 World Cup, his performance has been good and Bangladesh would expect him to deliver.

2. Mahmudullah

The experience of Mahmudullah will come in handy for Bangladesh in the Super 8s, and in this big clash against Australia he can hold the innings together. With Bangladesh’s top-order struggling, Mahmudullah will be crucial.

Team Head-to-Head

In head-to-head record in T20 World Cups, Australia have won all the four matches against Bangladesh. Overall in T20Is, out of 10 matches, Australia have won six and Bangladesh four matches.

AUSTRALIA v BANGLADESH – HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

Player Head-to-Head

DAVID WARNER VS MUSTAFIZUR RAHMAN in T20Is

INNINGS – 3

BALLS FACED – 11

RUNS SCORED – 20

WICKETS – 1

David Warner against Mustafizur Rahman would be a great match-up to watch. Earlier, in three innings, Mustafizur has dismissed Warner once.

GLENN MAXWELL VS SHAKIB AL HASAN in T20Is

INNINGS – 7

BALLS FACED – 33

RUNS SCORED – 46

WICKETS – 1

Glenn Maxwell hasn’t had great success against Shakib Al Hasan. Maxwell has scored just 33 runs off 46 balls in seven innings. The allrounder has also dismissed Maxwell once.

Venue and Pitch

The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua has hosted four matches in the tournament, and the team batting second has won three of them. Not surprisingly, the team that won the toss chose to chase in three matches. The probability of winning the match after winning the toss is 50%. The highest score at this venue in the tournament is 153, and the average score is 94.

The pitch in Antigua has provided significant assistance to both pace and spin. Fast bowlers have an average of 19.5, a strike rate of 14.8, and an economy of 7.9, while spinners have performed even better with an average of 19.2, a strike rate of 14, and an economy of 8.2. The pitch has true bounce, which is also good for batting. England chased down Oman’s target of 47 runs in just 3.1 overs during the group stage in Antigua.

Match Prediction

Australia have the momentum with them and will be favourites in the Super 8 clash against Bangladesh. Australia also has a good head-to-head record against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh’s top-order batting is in poor form, so the key for them would be Shakib and Mahmudullah. Australia’s bowling attack, led by Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood, can prove to be deadly. Zampa’s bowling in the middle overs will be crucial for Australia.

Fantasy XI

And finally, our Fantasy 11 includes seven Australian players and 4 Bangladeshi players. The pitch is likely to be great for batting and might offer grip for the spinners. That’s why we have included Shakib and Maxwell in the team. Similarly, if the pitch offers turn, Adam Zampa will be effective. Mustafizur Rahman will be effective in the Powerplay, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib will be crucial in the death overs. The captaincy pick would be Travis Head and Shakib Al Hasan for the vice-captaincy role.

Fantasy XI for Australia and Bangladesh

Wicketkeeper: Litton Das

Batters: David Warner, Travis Head (C), Mahmudullah, Tim David

All-rounders: Shakib Al Hasan (VC), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green

Bowlers: Mustafizur Rahman, Adam Zampa, Tanzim Hasan Sakib

Backup Players

Batter – Towhid Hridoy

Bowler – Pat Cummins

All-rounder – Soumya Sarkar