<p>2014 T20 World Cup Champions Sri Lanka will look to keep up their winning ways when they take on resurgent Bangladesh in match 15 of the T20 World Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The two teams qualified for the ‘Super 12’ stage of the World Cup on the back of convincing performances in the first round of the tournament. </p>.<p>Sri Lanka won all three Group A matches in the first round which saw them secure a place in Group 1 of the main draw. Bangladesh lost their opening match of Group B against Scotland, but the team bounced back to record wins against Papua New Guinea and Oman to finish second in Group B and earn a spot alongside England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka in Group 1. </p>.<p>Bangladesh are ranked sixth in the ICC men’s T20 rankings while Sri Lanka are ranked 10th. </p>.<p><strong>Sri Lanka strengths: </strong></p>.<p>Sri Lanka’s strength is their bowling attack. The attack spearheaded by pace duo Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera and supported by spin twins of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana was in superb form in the first round of the World Cup. Kumara picked 7 wickets while Chameera dismissed 3 batters. Hasaranga and Theekshana were almost unplayable in the first round. The two spinners combined to pick 14 wickets. A well-rounded bowling attack can cause trouble in the Bangladeshi ranks. </p>.<p><strong>Sri Lanka weaknesses: </strong></p>.<p>Sri Lanka tend to struggle in the Powerplay. The team lost 3, 3 and 2 wickets against Namibia, Ireland and the Netherlands respectively. Loss of early wickets tends to slow down their pace of scoring runs at a time when they should be getting runs at a brisk pace. Sri Lanka need to rectify this shortcoming if they wish to go deep in the tournament. </p>.<p><strong>Bangladesh strengths: </strong></p>.<p>Strangely, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have similar strengths in weaknesses. Bangladesh too have a very good bowling attack. The likes of Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mahedi Hasan were all amongst wickets in the first round of the tournament. Taskin picked 3 wickets, Mustafizur had 6 wickets, Shakib had 9 scalps and Mahedi dismissed 5 batters in the first round. </p>.<p><strong>Bangladesh weaknesses: </strong></p>.<p>Bangladesh too suffer from the issue of wickets falling in the powerplay. In their matches against Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman Bangladesh lost 2, 1 and 2 wickets in the first six overs of their innings. The loss of early wickets puts pressure on the middle order. </p>.<p><strong>Head-to-head</strong></p>.<p><strong>Matches played:</strong> 11</p>.<p><strong>Sri Lanka wins:</strong> 7 </p>.<p><strong>Bangladesh wins:</strong> 4</p>.<p><strong>Form Guide:</strong></p>.<p><strong>Sri Lanka:</strong> W-W-W-L-L</p>.<p><strong>Bangladesh:</strong> W-W-L-L-W</p>.<p><strong>Pitch and conditions</strong></p>.<p>The pitch is expected to be on the slower side. Spinners would come into play early in the match. Don’t expect this to be a high-scoring fixture. </p>.<p>The afternoon is going to sunny. The temperature during the day time could be around 34 °C. The humidity level will be around 51%. </p>.<p><strong>Team News</strong></p>.<p>Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana picked up a niggle in the team’s match against the Netherlands. The team would be hoping that Theekshana is fit for the match. </p>.<p>Bangladesh have no injury concerns. </p>.<p><strong>Deccan Herald’s Dream XI</strong></p>.<p>Mohammad Naim, Kusal Perera (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Avishka Fernando, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Mahedi Hasan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara</p>.<p><strong>Impact player for Sri Lanka</strong></p>.<p><strong>Wanindu Hasaranga: </strong>Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka will be looking towards Wanindu Hasaranga to deliver goods for the team. Hasaranga enjoyed good form in the three matches that Sri Lanka played in the first round of the World Cup. Hasaranga picked 6 wickets in those matches and played a match-winning knock of 71 against Ireland. Given how the pitches in Sharjah are behaving, Hasaranga will be licking his lips and itching to bowl. </p>.<p><strong>Impact player for Bangladesh</strong></p>.<p><strong>Shakib Al Hasan: </strong>Shakib Al Hasan was in excellent form in the first round of the T20 World Cup. In the three matches that Bangladesh played in the first round, Shakib scored 108 runs and picked 9 wickets. With 91 scalps, Shakib is now the leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket. With 39 wickets the all-rounder also has the most wickets in T20 World Cup. On slow low track of Sharjah, Shakib will be a very useful player. </p>
<p>2014 T20 World Cup Champions Sri Lanka will look to keep up their winning ways when they take on resurgent Bangladesh in match 15 of the T20 World Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The two teams qualified for the ‘Super 12’ stage of the World Cup on the back of convincing performances in the first round of the tournament. </p>.<p>Sri Lanka won all three Group A matches in the first round which saw them secure a place in Group 1 of the main draw. Bangladesh lost their opening match of Group B against Scotland, but the team bounced back to record wins against Papua New Guinea and Oman to finish second in Group B and earn a spot alongside England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka in Group 1. </p>.<p>Bangladesh are ranked sixth in the ICC men’s T20 rankings while Sri Lanka are ranked 10th. </p>.<p><strong>Sri Lanka strengths: </strong></p>.<p>Sri Lanka’s strength is their bowling attack. The attack spearheaded by pace duo Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera and supported by spin twins of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana was in superb form in the first round of the World Cup. Kumara picked 7 wickets while Chameera dismissed 3 batters. Hasaranga and Theekshana were almost unplayable in the first round. The two spinners combined to pick 14 wickets. A well-rounded bowling attack can cause trouble in the Bangladeshi ranks. </p>.<p><strong>Sri Lanka weaknesses: </strong></p>.<p>Sri Lanka tend to struggle in the Powerplay. The team lost 3, 3 and 2 wickets against Namibia, Ireland and the Netherlands respectively. Loss of early wickets tends to slow down their pace of scoring runs at a time when they should be getting runs at a brisk pace. Sri Lanka need to rectify this shortcoming if they wish to go deep in the tournament. </p>.<p><strong>Bangladesh strengths: </strong></p>.<p>Strangely, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have similar strengths in weaknesses. Bangladesh too have a very good bowling attack. The likes of Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mahedi Hasan were all amongst wickets in the first round of the tournament. Taskin picked 3 wickets, Mustafizur had 6 wickets, Shakib had 9 scalps and Mahedi dismissed 5 batters in the first round. </p>.<p><strong>Bangladesh weaknesses: </strong></p>.<p>Bangladesh too suffer from the issue of wickets falling in the powerplay. In their matches against Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman Bangladesh lost 2, 1 and 2 wickets in the first six overs of their innings. The loss of early wickets puts pressure on the middle order. </p>.<p><strong>Head-to-head</strong></p>.<p><strong>Matches played:</strong> 11</p>.<p><strong>Sri Lanka wins:</strong> 7 </p>.<p><strong>Bangladesh wins:</strong> 4</p>.<p><strong>Form Guide:</strong></p>.<p><strong>Sri Lanka:</strong> W-W-W-L-L</p>.<p><strong>Bangladesh:</strong> W-W-L-L-W</p>.<p><strong>Pitch and conditions</strong></p>.<p>The pitch is expected to be on the slower side. Spinners would come into play early in the match. Don’t expect this to be a high-scoring fixture. </p>.<p>The afternoon is going to sunny. The temperature during the day time could be around 34 °C. The humidity level will be around 51%. </p>.<p><strong>Team News</strong></p>.<p>Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana picked up a niggle in the team’s match against the Netherlands. The team would be hoping that Theekshana is fit for the match. </p>.<p>Bangladesh have no injury concerns. </p>.<p><strong>Deccan Herald’s Dream XI</strong></p>.<p>Mohammad Naim, Kusal Perera (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Avishka Fernando, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Mahedi Hasan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara</p>.<p><strong>Impact player for Sri Lanka</strong></p>.<p><strong>Wanindu Hasaranga: </strong>Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka will be looking towards Wanindu Hasaranga to deliver goods for the team. Hasaranga enjoyed good form in the three matches that Sri Lanka played in the first round of the World Cup. Hasaranga picked 6 wickets in those matches and played a match-winning knock of 71 against Ireland. Given how the pitches in Sharjah are behaving, Hasaranga will be licking his lips and itching to bowl. </p>.<p><strong>Impact player for Bangladesh</strong></p>.<p><strong>Shakib Al Hasan: </strong>Shakib Al Hasan was in excellent form in the first round of the T20 World Cup. In the three matches that Bangladesh played in the first round, Shakib scored 108 runs and picked 9 wickets. With 91 scalps, Shakib is now the leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket. With 39 wickets the all-rounder also has the most wickets in T20 World Cup. On slow low track of Sharjah, Shakib will be a very useful player. </p>