Match facts
Friday, February 26, 2016
Start time 1930 local (1330 GMT)
Big Picture
Careful when you research recent form with regard to this match.
You'll find Bangladesh have lost three Twenty20 internationals on the
bounce, while UAE have won three of their last four T20Is. The condensed
nature of T20 cricket may diminish the gap between a Full Member and an
Associate - one big over from a batsman or one little over from a
bowler can turn the entire match - but as well as UAE have played to get
here, a fourth win in the Asia Cup for them and a fourth loss for
Bangladesh seems unlikely.
But Amjad Javed will ask his men to concentrate on the basics so they
can capitalise on the what if's. What if Bangladesh drop a catch again?
Their loss to India can be traced back to the point where Rohit Sharma
got his reprieve. What if their top-order doesn't fire again? Sabbir
Rahman benefited from a half-chance going down, but could not
capitalise.
UAE are also on a proper high; last week they beat Ireland for the
first time in over a decade and used that momentum to topple Afghanistan
as well. The main round of the Asia Cup brought the high-rollers to
their party and Sri Lanka, after a little careless gambling, cleaned
them out.
Bangladesh are making some bold bets themselves: the occasional green
pitch, four fast bowlers, a hitter among the top three in their line-up
to suit T20 needs. Their fielding took the shine away from an improved
understanding of the shortest format, but luckily for them, changing
that is firmly in their hands.
Form guide
(Last five completed matches)
Bangladesh: LLLWW
UAE: LWWWW
Watch out for
Tall, broad-shouldered and hungry for success, Taskin Ahmed has been
one of those outright fast bowlers that teams from the subcontinent go
gaga over. Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has been keen to develop a
pace attack that can win matches and Taskin is among those who has
responded well to being empowered.
If he's not being busy with the bat for UAE on the cricket field,
Mohammad Usman would be busy working at UAE Exchange. It's only been a
year since he started playing the game in the local leagues back home
and just about a month since his promotion to the national side, but
with the confidence of his captain and his support staff, Usman is their
designated late-order enforcer.
Team news
Bangladesh are likely to bench Imrul Kayes and the choice could be
between Nurul Hasan, who did reasonably well against Zimbabwe last
month, and Nasir Hossain, who was dropped for that series.
Bangladesh (probable): Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad
Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah,
Nurul Hasan (wk), Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin
Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
UAE are trying to rebuild their a new core of players since the
retirements of Khurram Khan, Mohammad Tauqir and Saqib Ali. They got
through the qualifying tournament without too much shuffling of
personnel, but the loss to Sri Lanka may prompt a rethink.
UAE (probable): Muhammad Kaleem, Rohan Mustafa,
Shaiman Anwar, Mohammad Shahzad, Mohammad Usman, Amjad Javed (capt),
Saqlain Haider, Swapnil Patel (wk), Qadeer Ahmed/ Farhan Ahmed, Ahmed
Raza, Mohammad Naveed
Pitch and conditions
The odd ball has seamed about at Shere Bangla stadium, with the
groundsmen keeping some grass on the pitch, mainly to hold it together.
The weather is set to be fair in Dhaka on Friday.
Stats and trivia
Mohammad Naveed is one of only six bowlers to have an economy rate
below six with a minimum of 40 overs bowled in T20Is. His 5.92 puts him
behind Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine and Daniel Vettori.
Sabbir Rahman averages 38.94 at No. 3 in all T20s, as opposed to his overall average of 29.34
Quotes
"UAE has played the best cricket in their level and come [to the
Asia Cup's main event]. We have to perform professionally and win this
match. Yesterday [against India] we played till a certain period but we
have to do better tomorrow. We have watched UAE's video clips we have a
good enough idea about them."
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza about their approach against the UAE
"The bowlers will get a boost [from helpful pitches] and will
want to do well and when the batsmen see the bowlers performing and
restricting a team like Sri Lanka under 130, they'll want to perform
well to. So definitely they'll come back tomorrow and I hope they will
do well."
UAE captain Amjad Javed keeps faith in his team's abilities
