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The face-off between Bangladesh and England could be easily termed as an epic `David versus Goliath’ scenario as both the teams are poles apart in terms of strength in T20 format.
England are ranked first in the ICC Twenty20 internationals rankings. They are the runners-up of the last edition and also won the tournament in 2010.
On the other hand, Bangladesh is presently sitting at the eighth position of the ICC T20 ranking, never won a match in the main draw of the T20 World Cup since September 13, 2007, and suffered defeats to associate nations several times.
England is oozing with confidence as they trampled West Indies in their opening game in this year’s edition of the T20 World Cup, and with the top-ranked T20 Batsman Dawid Malan in the side, the three lions are a force to reckon with.
Bangladesh have a perennial weakness against leg-spin and England captain Eoin Morgan will surely unleash Adil Rashid, the current number four bowler in the T20 rankings, who picked up four wickets for only two runs against West Indies in their last game.
The two teams never met in any T20I before but have some history between them as Bangladesh defeated England in the World Cup twice, in 2011 and 2015.
England is armed to teeth as they have some explosive batsmen like Joss Buttler, Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, who can hit the ball all around the park.
The bowling side is well equipped as they have off-spinner Moeen Ali to complement Rashid. And in the pace bowling department, there are plenty of options too.
Ottis Gibson, the pace-bowling coach of Bangladesh who has plenty of experience regarding the England team, admitted in the pre-match press conference about the strength of the opposition.
“We know that England are a very powerful lineup, and we know that we have to be on our A-game if we’re going to really challenge them and ultimately win the game,” said the former West Indian cricketer.
Ottis watched the England team’s transformation from their defeat to Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup and believes that their aggressive style can give more opportunities to take wickets.
“England bowlers are looking to take wickets all the time, and England batters are looking to score runs all the time and put bowlers under pressure. The message is not to panic, understand that you are going to get hit. You might bowl a good ball and get hit because that’s their mentality, but they also give you opportunities to take wickets,” said Ottis, who was the bowling coach of England for two terms.
Dropping catches at crucial moments has been an area of concern for Bangladesh which cost them the game against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Ottis thinks it's not something to worry about. He said, “Catches get dropped. In every cricket match, one or two catches go down. Obviously, when the catches sort of result in a player part that results in a game, it’s highlighted more.”
England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler said in the pre-match press conference they are practising against left-arm spin to tackle the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Nasum Ahmed.
“We prepare specifically for the opposition, and so for the conditions we face, the spins, it’s going to play a huge part in this tournament. And of course, Bangladesh have a couple of left-arm spinners. Been practising against that a lot in the nets and trying to get some plans in place,” Buttler said.
According to biblical references, Armor-clad Goliath had only one weak spot- the eye-hole, and David had only one shot with his sling to knock him down.
Likewise, Bangladesh might have very few chances to unsettle England, and if they slip as Liton did against Sri Lanka, the result could be the same.
But if the Tigers can attack the right spot at the right moment, they might re-create another David vs Goliath story in Abu Dhabi.
