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Match Facts

Thursday, April 6, 2017
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)Mashrafe Mortaza will play his final T20I on Thursday•Associated Press

Big picture

The second T20 international against Sri Lanka will be Mashrafe Mortaza’s last, and Bangladesh will be keen to farewell their captain with a victory. If Bangladesh come back from Tuesday’s thrashing and win, the T20I series will end in a draw, like the ODI and Test series did.Sri Lanka, who were clinical in the first game, will look to stretch Bangladesh’s losing streak in T20Is to nine.It was the returning Kusal Perera who led Sri Lanka’s charge in the first match with a 53-ball 77. He found little support from the other end, but that did not stop Sri Lanka from acing a chase of 156. Lasith Malinga, predictably, was Sri Lanka’s most effective bowler with two wickets. Vikum Sanjaya’s swing, Asela Gunaratne’s dibbly-dobblers, and Seekugge Prasanna’s accurate legspin ably complemented Malinga.Mosaddek Hossain and Mahmudullah played cameos to rescue Bangladesh’s innings, but the side will need more from the top order, especially Soumya Sarkar who has a tendency to throw away starts.To give Mashrafe the perfect send-off in this format, Bangladesh will have to improve their fielding, and they also must find a way to absorb pressure. That is how they won at the P Sara Test and Dambulla ODI.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WLWWW (completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLLLL

In the spotlight

Kusal Perera‘s renewed vigour enabled him to make a match-winning half-century in the first game, and now will look to blend that vigour with consistency.All eyes will be on Mashrafe Mortaza, who had announced his retirement from T20Is at the toss in the previous game. Will it turn out to be a happy ending for Mashrafe?

Team news

Sri Lanka are likely to retain their winning combination from the first T20I.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Upul Tharanga (capt), 2 Kusal Perera (wk), 3 Dilshan Munaweera, 4 Chamara Kapugedara, 5 Asela Gunaratne, 6 Seekkuge Prasanna, 7 Milinda Siriwardana, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Vikum SanjayaBangladesh, on the other hand, might consider replacing Taskin Ahmed with offspinning allrounder Mehedi Hasan, who is uncapped in T20Is.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt.), 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Taskin Ahmed/Mehedi Hasan

Pitch and conditions

The second T20I will be played on the same pitch that was used for the first one. It is expected to be good for batting, but is likely to assist the spinners as the game wears on. Showers have been forecast for the day but the chance of rain in the evening is small.

Stats and trivia

• Mashrafe Mortaza will finish his T20I career as Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers.
• Bangladesh have now lost eight T20Is in a row, their second-worst run in the format

JP Duminy would welcome an ODI league and the addition of two extra Test teams, as proposed by the ICC’s Chief Executives Committee (CEC) at the latest round of board meetings last week. If approved, international cricket could run on a new schedule with a two-year Test league, a three-year, 13-team ODI league, culminating in qualification for the 50-over World Cup, and regional tournaments to determine places for a World T20. That will mean all limited-overs series will carry some weight and that is something Duminy is in favour of.”The best way to answer that is something that Russell [Domingo, South Africa’s coach] harps on quite a lot. Every game that you play for your country is of importance,” Duminy said. “If that [the new system] is in place, that puts a lot more emphasis on that. If we are focusing on that, that means we are giving our best throughout the series and for every game so that’s a big bonus.”The current series between South Africa and Sri Lanka is an example of why an ODI league would be a good idea. South Africa’s dominance in the three matches played so far has meant interest in the series has dwindled, although the prospect of a whitewash and South Africa ascending to No.1 on the rankings has provided some narrative.”The end result is definitely about 5-nil. Tomorrow is the most important game for us but we’ve always had one eye on 5-nil,” Duminy said. “It’s always a nice thing to be ranked No.1 and that will be an added bonus for us but for now it’s about making sure we focus on what’s important for us and that is the preparation leading up to the Champions Trophy.”Asked if he would be keen to play Tests against the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan, Duminy said he was eager for the chance to take on different opposition. “If that’s the situation, we would be up for it,” he said. “No matter who we are playing against, it’s an opportunity to represent your country and we don’t take that for granted. Whatever comes our way, we will be up for it.”And what about touring Afghanistan? “Why not? They’ve got some good players and we’ve played against them in the shorter formats and they’ve definitely given us a run for our money so why not?”South Africa have played two T20s against Afghanistan, at World T20s in 2010 and 2016. They won both matches, by 59 and 37 runs respectively. This summer, South Africa also hosted Ireland for the first time. Ireland played two ODIs in the country, one against South Africa and one against Australia. CSA have also begun the process of putting together working groups with neighbours Zimbabwe to see how they can assist them with everything from corporate governance to on-field cricket activities.

Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett, who were part of England’s Test squad for the tour of India, have been named in MCC’s squad to face Middlesex, the champion county, in the traditional curtain-raiser to the 2017 English season.Haseeb, who missed the latter stages of the India series after breaking his hand during the third Test in Mohali, is expected to have returned to full fitness by the time the four-day fixture gets underway in Abu Dhabi on March 26.The fixture will once again be played with a pink ball under the lights at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, match conditions that will be of particular significance this year, given that England are due to play their first day/night Test against West Indies at Edgbaston in August.

MCC squad to face Middlesex

Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire), Tom Alsop (Hampshire), Sam Northeast (Kent, capt), Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire), Ben Cox (Worcestershire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Matt Coles (Kent), Matt Fisher (Yorkshire), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Jack Leach (Somerset)

The MCC side will be captained by Kent’s Sam Northeast, and also includes the England Lions trio Joe Clarke, Tom Alsop and Lewis Gregory.Jack Leach, the Somerset left-arm spinner who was omitted from England’s Test plans this winter after doubts surfaced about his action, has also been selected alongside fellow the Hampshire legspinner, Mason Crane.”It’s special for me to be selected to play for MCC, as someone who came through the MCC Universities scheme,” said Leach. “I’ve got a lot of happy memories of my time at Cardiff, and it played a big part in my cricketing development.”There is a call-up, too, for the promising Yorkshire fast bowler, Matt Fisher, who is about to lead England Under-19s in India.”Having worked closely with the England selectors to assemble this group, I am very pleased with the fantastic talent we have at our disposal,” said John Stephenson, MCC’s Head of Cricket.”Haseeb Hameed, Joe Clarke and Ben Duckett are three of the most exciting young batsmen in the country at the moment, and I’m looking forward to seeing them. We’ve also selected a youthful and varied bowling attack which I’m sure will pose problems for the Middlesex batsmen. The facilities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai remain excellent for first-class cricket and we’re looking forward to a competitive match.”Last season’s MCC team overcame 2015 County Champions Yorkshire by four wickets, thanks to impressive performances from Ian Bell, Jake Ball and James Tredwell.

Four wickets from Goa medium-pacer Rituraj Singh trumped Ricky Bhui’s 71 to seal an exciting 34-run win against Andhra early on the third day in Dhanbad. Chasing 233, Bhui took Andhra till he was eighth out at 179. They were eventually bowled out for 198.Resuming on 99 for 3, Andhra’s overnight pair saw out the first 10.1 overs of the day before Shadab Jakati struck in consecutive overs to bowl Dwaraka Ravi Teja for 49 and have AG Pradeep caught behind for 1. From 127 for 5, Andhra pushed towards their target via a stand of 39 between Bhui and Bhargav Bhatt.But Rituraj wiped out the lower order, striking off consecutive deliveries to remove Bhatt and KV Sasikanth. At 168 for 7, Bhui was Andhra’s only hope. Once he was caught behind off Amulaya Pandrekar, Rituraj took the last two wickets to finish with 4 for 24. Bhui’s third half-century in as many matches could not get Andhra any points, while Goa took six. Jakati finished with 11 wickets in the match, having taken a career-best 8 for 53 in the first innings.Nakul Verma’s second successive century helped Services set Chhattisgarh a target of 281 in Mumbai. Services, who were stuttering at 19 for 3, drove ahead courtesy Verma’s stands of 106 with Shamsher Yadav and 175 with Rahul Singh (99), which helped them declare on 340 for 7, with Verma unbeaten on 156. Chhattisgarh batted out the last three overs of the day to finish on 6 without loss, with Sahil Gupta and Abhimanyu Chauhan at the crease.Hyderabad were six wickets from their third successive win as Jammu & Kashmir stumbled to 42 for 4 chasing 396 in Vadodara. J&K, resuming on 156 for 7, were bowled out for 169, with seamer Ravi Kiran taking 4 for 32. Tanmay Agarwal then struck his second century of the match, scoring 103, his 128-run stand with Akshath Reddy laying the foundation for he innings.S Badrinath, the captain, then added 116 with Agarwal to set up Hyderabad’s declaration on 244 for 1. Ravi Kiran struck early again to dismiss Ahmed Bandy with J&K on 20. Off the next over, CV Milind sent back Shubham Khajuria. Pranav Gupta and Ian Dev Singh fell soon after to leave them reeling by the end of the day. Ram Dayal and Aditya Singh will resume batting on Friday.Kerala, who conceded a first-innings lead, were 66 short of victory against Tripura in Cuttack, ending the third day 117 without loss. Mohammed Azharuddeen made a 98-ball 80, and had solid company from Bhavin Thakkar (37 not out).Iqbal Abdulla, the left-arm spinner, picked up three wickets to rip through Tripura’s middle order as they stumbled to 111 for 5 in their second innings. Akshay Chandran then completed the demolition as Tripura were bowled out for 162, with Smit Patel top-scoring with 54. Their second innings lasted just 70.1 overs. Four other batsmen got into double figures, with the highest score among them being 25 by Bishal Ghose.Himachal Pradesh were asked to follow on by Haryana in Valsad after they were all out for 233 in their first innings. They ended the day 142 for 1 in their second innings, trailing Haryana by 27 runs.Sanjay Pahal took his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as HP managed to add only 132 runs for their last seven wickets. Overnight batsman Sumeet Verma top-scored with 66 and stitched a 69-run partnership with Amit Kumar (37) for the seventh wicket – the team’s only significant one. The last four wickets fell for 19 runs.Still trailing by 169 runs, HP’s openers RI Thakur and Prashant Chopra added 140 for the first wicket. Debutant Thakur was dismissed for 45 by Pahal in the day’s last over as Chopra finished not out on 89 with new batsman Robin Bist (2) for company.

Vernon Philander’s parting words to his new-ball partner Dale Steyn were a promise: that Philander would do everything in his power to try and finish the job Steyn started and return home with a series win. Steyn will play no further part in the Tests after fracturing his right shoulder and Philander has taken it on himself to lead the pack.”Losing big players leaves a big gap but there’s always an opportunity for someone else to step up,” Philander said. “In this game KG [Kagiso Rabada] and myself will have to step up. That serves as motivation for us to step up and deliver. Dale’s done it for a long time and we owe it to him.”So far, Philander has followed through. He took four for 56 in an exceptional second-day spell in which he found subtle seam movement and admitted he knew it would be up to him to ensure Australia did not get too far away. “Dale’s been the leader of this attack for a very long time and it’s sad to see him go down like that. We had a job to do and that was to get the Aussies out as cheaply as possible, and it was a job well done by the rest of the bowlers,” Philander said. “It’s a responsibility that will be well taken by the rest of the team and the squad. We want to win this game for Dale as well.”Steyn made one mark on the match though – and it may yet to prove to be the most important – when he had David Warner caught at slip on 97 and sparked the Australian collapse. Although Warner may be secretly pleased he does not have to see Steyn for the rest of the series, he will miss the contest. “I am disappointed for Dale. After all the amp and the talk before the series, I know how pumped he would have been to play a big role. It is disappointing for him,” Warner said. “I hope he can get back on the park and play the competitive cricket that we’ve seen him play.”Warner remains wary of a South African attack that has already shown it can bowl Australia out sans Steyn and despite depleted resources. He mentioned less than 300 as a target the Australians think might give them a chance but cautioned against getting too excited by South Africa being a man down.”We have to respect each individual. There are two very good fast bowlers there and we’ve seen the wickets they can take,” Warner said. “We can’t look too far ahead. In this match, we still have to bowl well and then bat again but we know know that if we get through that first period with the new ball, they will have to revert to spin.”