The 11th game of the ICC World T20 will see Australia play Bangladesh in a Group A encounter at Barbados. Australia had had a crushing start to the tournament when they beat Pakistan in a one-sided encounter, and will look to repeat their performance against Bangladesh.

Bangladesh (6/1 at Bwin) is a tough side to face up to in this format of the game, and if they manage to repeat what Zimbabwe did to Australia in the warm-up games, then the group will be interestingly poised with everyone with a win each. However, thanks to Australia’s (1/8 at Sky Bet) big win against Pakistan, they should be through to the next round irrespective of the result.

Australia batted like a champions side that have been in the past few years, and the form of Shane Watson (11/4 at Ladbrokes to top-score for his side) had a big say in the matter. Having said that, the Aussies were propelled by David Hussey (7/1 at Totesport to top-score for his side) in the end, and despite the record five wickets that fell in the final over of the innings, they had 191 on the board. Michael Clarke continued to come to grips with the format, but against Bangladesh could offer its best opportunity to get going, even as Dave Warner (3/1 at Boylesports to top-score for Australia) continues to smack the ball around at the start of the innings.

Cameron White (8/1 at Sky Bet to be Australia’s best batsman) went into the crease with not too many balls remaining, but he is a T20I specialist, and may just be brought up the order if the Australians need to have a hit from the word go.

Bangladesh did not have a great game against Pakistan, because their openers struggled to get a move on. Imrul Kayes (6/1 at Boylesports) barely troubled the scorers, while Tamim Iqbal (7/2 at Blue Square, both to top-score for Bangladesh) seemed to be affected by his injury that could have probably seen him out of the tournament. But, the good news for the Bangladesh side is the return to form of Mohammad Ashraful (4/1 at Blue Square) and Shakib al Hasan (5/1 at Bet Fred, both to be Bangladesh’s best batsmen in the game), both of whom had had a rather ordinary lead-up to the tournament.

While I will want to watch more of Ashraful to consider betting on him, given his inconsistencies, Shakib could just be the man I will want to put my money on. His confidence will be soaring sky-high after the performance against Pakistan saw him bat and bowl like a true all-rounder.

Tips:
Favourites: Australia (1/8 at Sky Bet)
Top Australia batsman: Cameron White (8/1 at Sky Bet)
Top Bangladesh batsman: Shakib al Hasan (5/1 at Bet Fred)