Team news, likely XIs, form guide, players to watch, odds, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, umpire appointments and everything else you need to know
Sri Lanka take on Bangladesh in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.
The game is scheduled for 2pm local time (11am BST) on Sunday, October 24, 2021.
The game will be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah.
Sharjah Cricket Stadium: Ground guide
After topping Group A and winning three matches out of three, Sri Lanka head into their Super 12 opener with winning momentum. Dasun Shanaka's side breezed through round one, comfortably defeating Namibia (seven wickets) and Ireland (70 runs) before demolishing Netherlands to finish with a flourish. In Sharjah on Friday, Sri Lanka bowled their European opponents out for 44 at the halfway stage before chasing down their target in 7.1 overs. Sri Lanka are now unbeaten in seven T20s.
Bangladesh finished second in Group B, winning two of their three matches. After being stunned by Scotland in their tournament opener, Mahmudullah's side bounced back with consecutive victories over Oman (26 runs) and Papua New Guinea (84 runs) but have looked a shadow of the side which recorded back-to-back series wins over Australia and New Zealand earlier in the year.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have contested 11 T20Is, with the former leading the head-to-head 7-4. The two sides also met in a warm-up fixture on October 12, with Sri Lanka winning by four wickets with six balls remaining.
Dafabet have installed Sri Lanka as the favourites to win, offering odds of 3/4. Bangladesh are available at 21/20.
Kusal Perera is backed to top-score for Sri Lanka and is available at 12/5. Shakib Al Hasan is at 13/5 to do the same for Bangladesh.
For Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan is their talisman. The allrounder, ranked 30th on the T20 Player Index, had an okay start to the tournament, taking 2 for 17 and scoring 20 runs against Scotland, but has since put in back-to-back player of the match-winning performances to ensure his side's qualification for the Super 12s. Against Oman, he took 3 for 28 and scored a quickfire 42 (29 balls) while against PNG, he picked up 4 for 9 and scored a further 46 runs.
With the bat, he has the ability to take an innings away from the bowling side and will be the crucial wicket for Sri Lanka's bowlers. With the ball, he has formed a dynamic partnership with Mahedi Hasan (five wickets and an economy of 4.41), often bowling an over in the powerplay before the pair strangle their opponents with a spin barrage in the middle overs.
Sri Lanka's allrounder extraordinaire is Wanindu Hasaranga, a precocious talent who will be gunning to steal Shakib's thunder. Hasaranga has only been required to bat once in three matches but scored 71 runs at a blistering strike rate of 151.06 to knock the stuffing out of Ireland's bowlers. With the ball, he has six wickets, best figures of 3 for 9, and an economy of 4.09.
If fit, mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana could also wreak havoc with the ball. In nine overs, the 21-year-old has picked up a team-leading eight wickets (one fewer than Shakib) and conceded just 45 runs.
Sri Lanka have only made one change across their three matches to date, swapping no.3 Dinesh Chandimal for Charith Asalanka against Netherlands after the former scored just 11 runs in two matches. However, Asalanka didn't cover himself in glory against Netherlands, scoring just six runs from 10 balls.
Mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana picked up a side strain against Netherlands and may not recover in time for Sunday's match.
Mohammad Naim replaced Soumya Sarkar at the top of the order following Bangladesh's defeat against Scotland and should retain his spot despite following his half-century against Oman with a duck against PNG. Fellow opener Liton Das may have saved his own starting berth with a 23-ball 29 against the same opponents.
The following umpires and match referees have been named by the ICC to officiate in the T20 World Cup 2021:
Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath
Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson
The following officials have been allocated to this fixture:
On-field umpires: Holdstock, J Wilson
TV umpire: Gough
Fourth umpire: Tucker
Referee: Srinath
Full T20 World Cup officials appointments: Click here
Another hot day in Sharjah, with temperatures expected to peak at 33 degrees Celsius.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, though Covid protocols including the wearing of face masks will be in place.
Click here to visit the ICC's ticketing site.
Bangladesh are over-reliant on Shakib Al Hasan whereas Sri Lanka appear to be getting better with every passing match. Sri Lanka win.
T20 WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Talk Talk 404, BT TV 423, Virgin 504) will broadcast the series in the United Kingdom, with the content available online via its streaming platform Sky Go.
BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will have live ball-by-ball radio commentary of all tournament matches, accessible through the BBC Sport website, BBC Sounds or DAB radio.
The Star Sports network is showing the tournament in India. Matches can be streamed via Disney+ Hotstar
Other broadcasters by territory:
Australia - Fox Sports, Channel 9, Kayo Sports
New Zealand – Sky Sport New Zealand
Pakistan - PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Bangladesh - Ghazi Tv (GTV)
Sri Lanka – SLRC (Channel Eye)
South Africa – SuperSport
Caribbean – ESPN
Middle East and North Africa – eLife TV, StarzPlay, Switch TV
USA – ESPN+
Singapore - Star Cricket, Star Hub and Singtel
Malaysia - Fox International Channels
Hong Kong - Star Cricket
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya De Silva, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana, Akila Dananjaya, Binura Fernando
Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (c), Shakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Naim, Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shariful Islam, Taskin Ahmed
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara
Bangladesh: Liton Das, Mohammad Naim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman
T20 World Cup Hub: News, features, stats, live scores
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