Tigers eye to sweep Lanka for auto entry into World Cup
The upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka will surely be the best chance for Bangladesh to confirm their auto qualification to the next ICC World Cup 2019 by sealing the series.
As per the rules of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the hosts England and seven other top teams in the ODI ranking list will directly qualify for the next World Cup, while the four other teams will get a chance to set their seats in the world cricket extravaganza by playing the 10-team qualifying tournament in 2018.
Bangladesh is now in the 7th slot with 91 rating points, seven points behind sixth-ranked Sri Lanka (98), and it will have to hold the position till September 30, 2017 to auto qualify in the World Cup. Or else, the Tigers must utilise the second chance for Word Cup berth, playing in the qualifying tournament in 2018.
West Indies and Pakistan will be keeping a close eye on the ODI series in Sri Lanka as both are also in the danger zone.
Pakistan is in the eighth position with 89 points, just two points behind the Tigers, while the West Indies is in the ninth slot on 84 points. The two teams will face each other in a three-match ODI series from April 7-11.
If Bangladesh, which will aim to carry its P.Sara Stadium momentum into the ODI series, it will join Sri Lanka on 96 points and be ranked in sixth place when the points are calculated beyond the decimal point.
If the result reverses, Bangladesh will slip into the ninth slot behind Pakistan losing three valuable points.
The two day-night ODIs of the series will be held at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla on March 25 and 28 while the 3rd match will be played at Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo on April 1.
Bangladesh’s track record in ODIs against Sri Lanka is better than in other formats of cricket, having four wins and one with no result in 38 outings.
Since March 1986 to December 2016, Bangladesh so far played 321 ODIs while Sri Lanka played out 732 matches during this period. Sri Lanka played a total of 789 ODIs since June 1975 to February 2017.
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s men will look to keep the momentum going from the landmark victory in the 2nd Test, their first in the longer format of the game against Sri Lanka.
The Tigers have experienced and prolific players, including dashing opener Tamim Iqbal, consistent performer Mushfiqur Rahim, world number one all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and in-form opening batsman Imrul Kayes in their side to keep up the momentum with full strength.
Another experienced Mahmudullah Riyad set his batting tune with an unbeaten innings of 71 runs in the warm-up match against Sri Lanka Board President’s XI on Wednesday.
Although Bangladesh lost the exciting warm-up match by two runs, the Tigers batsmen, including young hitter Sabbir Rahman (72), captain Mashrafe (58) and 21-year-old Mosaddek Hossain (53), warmed up well with bat hammering quick fifties on their team collection to 352/8 in 50 overs.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has called young all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz to the ODI squad to enhance both the batting and bowling line strength, making the team a 17-man one.
Cutter master Mustafizur Rahman, who has been marked as Mashrafe’s ‘Trump Card’ by Bangladesh cricket team former captain Mohammad Ashrafu, also recuperated his form during the Test series against Sri Lanka.
Ashraful is greatly optimistic ahead of the series saying, “If we (Bangladesh) can play our natural game, we can win the series.”
“It’ll be easy for the Tigers to clean sweep the hosts if Mustafiz is available in all three matches as other players of the team are in a good rhythm, too. He can be the ‘Tump Card’ of Mashrafe in the series as he has the capacity to change the game in 10 overs,” Ashraful said while talking to journalists at Mirpur.
Possible scenarios after the series results:
Bangladesh wins 3-0: Bangladesh 96, Sri Lanka 96
Bangladesh wins 2-1: Bangladesh 93, Sri Lanka 97
Sri Lanka wins 3-0: Sri Lanka 100, Bangladesh 88
Sri Lanka wins 2-1: Sri Lanka 99, Bangladesh 91
ICC ODI Team Rankings as of 23 March 2017
(Before the start of Sri Lanka-Bangladesh series)
Rank Team Points
1 South Africa 119
2 Australia 118
3 New Zealand 113
4 India 112
5 England 108
6 Sri Lanka 98
7 Bangladesh 91
8 Pakistan 89
9 West Indies 84
10 Afghanistan 51
11 Zimbabwe 47
12 Ireland 44
