Australia vs Bangladesh - 5 things to look forward to

Australia and Bangladesh, after registering comprehensive wins over England and Afghanistan respectively, meet at the Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday for their second league match of the World Cup. While Australia has been bolstered by the return of Michael Clarke from injury, Bangladesh would look to be party spoilers for the hosts.Here are 5 things to look forward to as the two teams meet for game number 11 of the 43 day event.

#5 Key players

Tamim Iqbal- Other than the already mentioned Mortaza and Shakib, the left-handed opener will have the responsibility of seeing off the new ball bowling duo of Mitchell Starc and Johnson. The hero of the memorable 2007 win against India with a match winning 51, Iqbal has 3990 runs in 136 games and the Bangladeshi fans who have arrived in huge numbers Down under will be hoping for an encore.

Mitchell Starc- With 63 wickets in 34 games, Starc has emerged as the ideal bowling partner to Johnson, generating pace and bounce along with the ability to bring the ball back into the right hander. Touted as the most promising fast bowler, Starc is one of the key men who have the responsibility of guiding the hosts to their 5th WC title.

Teams- Bangladesh: Masrafe Bin Mortaza (c), Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mominul Hoque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmud Ullah, Nasir Hossain, Shabbir Rahaman, Soumya Sarkar, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Al Amin Hossain, Taijul Islam, Arafat Sunny.

Australia: Michael Clarke (c), George Bailey, David Warner, Aaron Finch, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, Brad Haddin (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner.

#4 Bangladesh and the ability to surprise

Do not count out Bangladesh. Just yet. They have the habit of surprising and pulling off the customary WC upsets when one least expects them to do so. The Bangla Tigers have caused the most number of upsets, 4 to be specific, in the event over the years, none more memorable than the defeat inflicted to India in the 2007 WC which sent Rahul Dravid’s team packing in the very first round. In 1999 too, they had defeated World Cup favourites Pakistan by 62 runs and the Bangladeshis will turn out on the field with a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude, which makes them all the more dangerous.

On Saturday, they have the opportunity to add to their solitary win against Australia in ODI’s who will be on their toes, after the event has already seen West Indies lose to Ireland and teams like South Africa and New Zealand surviving scares against Zimbabwe and Scotland respectively, before scraping through.

#3 Can Shakib win it for Bangladesh?

Without a doubt, Shakib al Hasan is one of the best all-rounders of this era and Australia will have to be wary of the left-hander if they are to bag 2 points on Saturday. With 4040 runs in 136 innings and 184 wickets in 142 games, Shakib has emerged as the mainstay of the Bangladeshi lineup in the past few years.

Against the Aussies, he has managed 147 runs in 7 games but one must not forget that the last time he played when the 2 teams met was way back in 2011. A match winning 63 against the Afghan side in their WC opener, en route to which he became the first player from the country to score 4000 runs, would have done his confidence a world of good.

Other than Shakib, the onus will be on Captain Mashrafe Mortaza to bowl his team to a victory against a team comprising pinch hitters like David Warner, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith.

#2 The Australian team composition

With the return of Clarke, the Australian think tank has the tough job of coming up with the final 11 on Saturday. On other occasions, Clarke would have replaced George Bailey, who had figures of 125 runs in the last 5 innings. But a patient 55 off 69 balls in the previous game against England after the fall of 3 quick wickets, which gave the likes of Brad Haddin and Glenn Maxwell the opportunity to flourish later on, has strengthened his case to turn out for the Kangaroos on Saturday.

In all probability, Shane Watson who has 457 runs in his last 15 innings and only 3 wickets to show for in this period, will have to sit out but one will have to wait for coach Darren Lehman’s final squad,

#1 The return of Michael Clarke

Having missed most part of the Australian summer after tearing his right hamstring during the 1st test match versus India in December, all eyes will be on Michael Clarke as he makes a return to the national team in the game against Bangladesh.

After undergoing surgery, which had threatened to end his playing career, the Australian selectors set a deadline of this weekend where Clarke had to prove his fitness if he had to take any further part in the WC. He scored 98 runs in the two warm up games scheduled and the captain is ready to take over the reins from George Bailey, under whose leadership the team had bagged 2 points after they managed to defeat England in the opening WC match.

After a series of injuries in 2014, the 33-year-old would look to start his WC campaign on a high with a victory against Bangladesh.