One quick glance at Group D ahead of the World Cup would have told you how South Africa were overwhelming favourites to go through to the Super 8s. They did live up to that billing in their first match when they hammered a former champion in Sri Lanka. The island nation were bowled out for just 77 on a treacherous pitch. That total without a doubt has caused a huge dent in their net run rate.
Now, Sri Lanka cannot afford to slip again. This group has Bangladesh, Netherlands and Nepal. While Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were expected to fight it out for the second Super 8 spot from this group, Netherlands and Nepal are no pushovers. Even for a team that has a rich history of thrashing lower-ranked teams, nothing is guaranteed in this format and on the world stage as USA demonstrated yesterday.
Sri Lanka’s challenge will also be against a familiar rival, who have been observing the patterns of the World Cup so far. Bangladesh are yet to play a game. This is a team that’s been trying to make a mark in T20 cricket for a while now, having made giant strides in ODIs over the last decade. To begin a campaign against a batting lineup that’s wounded is probably not a bad thing for Bangladesh.
Given their own batters lack confidence, they would hope to be welcomed by a challenging surface. Bangladesh are coming into this game on the back of that series loss against the United States that made headlines. But given what the USA produced against Pakistan, maybe it is time to cut Bangladesh some slack. (cricbuzz)
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