A winning start for Bengal Tigers in the first T20 match on 5 July will give a strong signal for a fascinating contest throughout the series. We know Bengal tigers winning streak was halted in the last ODI against India. That hurt the morale a little bit. But wounded tigers always bounce back with vengeance. That is what will be expected from them at Shere Bangla (Tiger of Bengal) on Sunday afternoon. A winning start will regain the momentum and will give the moral boost essential to encounter with very strong protean team in other formats.

We do not think given the recent forms of both the teams in T20 the possibility of Bangladesh winning cannot be ruled out. Anything can happen in the head to head contest between teams ranked sixth and ninth. Moreover, names of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel are missing from South Africa squad. Off course Bangladesh also cannot field Taskin and Mahamudullah. T20 match win needs one or two players to perform out of ordinary. One or two key overs , a mistake here and there cause a defeat.

T20 Squad:

Bangladesh :  Mashrafee Bin Murtaza (Capt) ,Tamim Iqbal ,Soumya Sarkar , Liton K Das, Rony Talukdar , Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman ,Nasir Hossain, Sohag Gazi, Jubair Hossain,Arafat Sunny , Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur  Rahman.

South African: Faf du Plessis (C), Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller, David Wiese, Chris Morris, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Aaron Phangiso, Eddie Leie, Wayne Parnell, Beuran Hendricks

We know that neither Bangladesh nor South Africa had particularly good T20 experience during the last T20 world cup that was played in Bangladesh in 2013 .But that was an event of the past. Bangladehis are more adept to playing better in shorter version of the game. They have recently steam rolled a very strong T20 Pakistan team.  Shakib is the top T20 all-rounder. He was one of the keys to Kolkata Knight Riders title wins on two occasions .He also played with performances for Melbourne Renegades at KFC big bash. Any one or two among the group comprising of Tamim, Soumya, Mushfiqur, Shabbir, Nasir and off course new boy wonder Mustafiz may unleash match winning bravery.

Off course the task is never going to be easy.  The visitors will also be very keen for a winning start. They must have come with extensive home works. They also know it very well what a winning start means to a series in overseas. Some South Africans AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, JP Duminy and Chris Morris are key performers for their IPL franchises in recent time. The batting looks very strong and flamboyant. But bowling is possibly a little thin though Wayne Parnell, Chris Morris, Kyle Abbott are not to be taken easy. How much they can extract from Bangladesh wickets and what kind of wicket is prepared will be decisive.

How to choose the Bangladesh team for the first match?Many people may think in many different ways. But excepting possibly omission of Abdur Razzak we consider the team is all right. The emergence of Soumya has made Anamul’s return a bit challenging soon in the opening slot unless he performs extra ordinary in the practice match. Experienced Razzak could be in the squad in place of Arafat Sunny who I think may not be successful against likes of ABD, Duminy, Miller and du Plessis.

We can rely on Tamim and Soumya launching blistering opening partnership. None of the three new ball bowlers Wayne Parnell, Chris Morris, Kyle Abbott have greater pace and works in bowling than Wahab Riaz or Umesh Yadav. A solid opening partnership will present launching pad for Shakib, Mushfique, Shabbir and Nasir to consolidate and set match-winning target. I am not sure whether Bangladesh can risk playing with six genuine batsmen and Sohag Gazi as all-rounder. In that case, Mushfiqur will have to keep wickets. I would rather suggest playing Liton or Rony as additional batsmen. Masrafee, Mustafiz, Jubair, Shakib, Nasir and Shohag Gazi can be tasked with the bowling.

My suggested team would be:

Tamim Iqbal ,Soumya Sarkar , Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman ,Nasir Hossain, Liton K Das/ Rony Talukdar Sohag Gazi, Mashrafee Bin Murtaza (Capt) Jubair Hossain,Arafat Sunny , Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur  Rahman.

I would suggest playing Mushfiqur at number three for creating left hand right band batting combinations at business sessions. Mushfique also rotates strike and can combine link better with the any of the opener and Shakib. If my team is considered would rather suggest playing Rony as we have learnt he is better stroke maker. Few can argue about Arafat Sunny. The much I know about flamboyant free stroking South African batsmen they played better than Sunny left arm spinners in IPL with gay abandon. Rather Sohag Gazi and Jubair would be much better options. Some may still argue about Rubel Hossain. But at least in the first T20 I would suggest going with two pacers.  You cannot rattle South Africans with pace.

We cannot guarantee that even a score of 180 -190 will be safe against this South African team which has so many truly world-class batsmen. We have to remember with a man called ABD on opponents camp sky is the limit. He is a batsman of amazing quality. Sharp like a cheetah and ruthless like African Lion ABD must be the person Bangladesh should target to get early.

David Miller, du Plessis, de Kock and Duminy are other major stroke makers in the side. Mashrafee must preserve few overs of Mustafiz and Shakib for ABD. Even Jubair can be a better option against him. He has to be sent back before he unleashes. ABDs mind may be a little bit unsettled now with his babby coming soon. Bangladesh may try to give some presents for his upcoming baby giving him more time in the dugout. For de Cock, Duminy and Miller (left Handed batsmen) Sohag Gazi and Nasir would be better options.

It will be a 50-50 T20 series. No side is clearly favorite. The side that appears with their A game on the days will win. But a winning start will be equally important for both the teams to get going.

BDST: 0954 HRS, JULY 3, 2015
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