Bangladesh will clash against the USA for the first time ever in a T20I match on Tuesday, acting as a warm-up for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Tigers and the USA, one of the co-hosts of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup alongside the West Indies, will kick off a three-match T20 series this evening at 9 pm (BST).
This is the first time the USA and Bangladesh will have played a T20 cricket series against each other. The match will take place at the Prairie View Cricket Complex in Texas, which was battered by thunderstorms last week, raising concerns about whether the match could be held there.
Thankfully, the weather cleared up just after a day of the frightening storm attack, and the Bangladesh team held their first training session at the Prairie View Cricket Complex on Sunday.
Originally, all three matches in the series were scheduled to take place at the Grand Prairie Complex. This would provide an advantage for both the Tigers and the USA, as it's the ground where Bangladesh will begin their World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka on June 7th, and the USA will play their first two World Cup games against Canada and Pakistan at Grand Prairie. There may be a cordial atmosphere for the Tigers when they meet familiar faces. Former Bangladesh head coach (2012), Australian Stuart Law, who recently coached the Under-19 team, is now the head coach of the USA team. Additionally, Bangladeshi-born American Golam Nowsher Prince, a former Bangladesh national team pace bowler, is now the cricket operations officer for the USA team. However, the Tigers will also be greeted by another familiar face – the destructive Corey Anderson, whose all-round capabilities could pose a headache for any opposition. Anderson, who previously played for New Zealand, enthralled Bangladesh with his batting when he smashed a 41-ball 94-run innings against them in Mount Maunganui, including a rapid-fire ten sixes.
It's worth noting that just a week before their departure for the USA, Bangladesh played a five-match T20 series against Zimbabwe on home soil (Chittagong and Dhaka), winning 4-1. However, their batting performances were a concern throughout the series, with the Tigers only crossing 160 runs once (165). This led captain Najmul Hossain Shanto to criticise the pitches.
The batting performances of the top order, including opener Litton Das and number three batsman captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto, were a particular cause for concern. Their disappointing displays were a far cry from their usual form, although Soumya Sarkar showed some promise after returning from injury.
Crucially, all the batsmen will need to score runs against the USA to build their confidence before embarking on their World Cup mission.
