Deadline: May 15, 2019 at 3:15 PM IST
Venue: Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin
Pitch and conditions
The last match between Ireland and Bangladesh was washed out, and to make matters worse, the weather is going to be partly cloudy on Wednesday.
The average first and second innings scores read 292 and 244 respectively. The highest total registered is 381 for 3 by West Indies vs Ireland and it was scripted only a week ago. Expect nothing less on Wednesday.
Probable XI for Ireland: Paul Stirling, James McCollum, Andy Balbirnie, William Porterfield (c), Kevin O’Brien, Mark Adair, Gary Wilson (wk), George Dockrell, Boyd Rankin, Tim Murtagh/Andy McBrine, Josh Little
Probable XI for Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Abu Jayed/Farhad Reza, Mehidy Hasan Miraz/Nayeem Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Mustafizur Rahman/Taskin Ahmed
Fantasy team
We have opted for a fantasy cricket team on the basis of players’ impact, recent performances, and credit points.
Note that you can now change your team after the toss. You can also check players’ performances in the last 5 matches. Tap on the players’ names to get the data while making your fantasy team.
My XI: Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Kevin O’Brien, Mahmudullah, Andy Balbirnie (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar (vc), Shakib Al Hasan, Paul Stirling, Boyd Rankin, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mustafizur Rahman
West Indies and Bangladesh have already qualified for the final, making the upcoming match a dead rubber. Ireland will meet Afghanistan next and Bangladesh will head to England for the World Cup 2019 after the final, so there’s some ironing out needed for both teams.
Josh Little was impressive against England in the one-off ODI two weeks ago. He finished with 4 for 45 against the No. 1 team in the format. However, his form has dramatically dipped since then. He leaked 72 and 78 against West Indies this series, taking only a wicket. He is only 19. Ireland would not go hard on him.
On the contrary, Andy Balbirnie’s transformation has been incredible. He has been Ireland’s highest run-scorer since 2018, and has 2 hundreds in the last 10 matches. A lot will depend on him on Wednesday, but he will want his team to emulate his performances. One man cannot help Ireland rise above struggles. They have to play as a cohesive unit.
Bangladesh have not made much changes in their batting lineup. Mortaza is likely to give chances to Yasir Ali, Liton Das, and Mosaddek Hossain. That said, Sabbir Rahman didn’t get to bat in both matches. There’s some thinking to do for the team management.
Power players
From both teams, Balbirnie’s 164 runs are the most. Soumya Sarkar follows him with 37 runs fewer. Both have been the cynosure of their respective batting units.
Mortaza and Mustafizur, with 6 wickets each, rule the bowling chart. For Ireland, Rankin (3 wickets) has done the bulk of the damage.
Squads:
Ireland: Paul Stirling, James McCollum, Andrew Balbirnie, William Porterfield(w), Kevin O Brien, Mark Adair, Gary Wilson(c), George Dockrell, Tim Murtagh, Joshua Little, Boyd Rankin, Lorcan Tucker, Barry McCarthy, Andy McBrine
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mehidy Hasan, Abu Jayed, Mustafizur Rahman, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Rubel Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Yasir Ali, Taskin Ahmed, Farhad Reza
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