Teams:

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam

Netherlands (Playing XI): Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Wesley Barresi, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards(w/c), Bas de Leede, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Logan van Beek, Shariz Ahmad, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren

Shakib Al Hasan: We have to do better with batting and bowling, especially in the powerplay. If we can do that, the momentum will be with us.

Netherlands have won the toss and have opted to bat

Scott Edwards:

Netherlands have won the toss and have opted to bat

Playing at Eden, it is closer to home for Shakib and his boys, and they would be looking for a second win in the tournament after four consecutive losses. Their bowling has been a bit wayward and batters barring Litton Das and Mahmudullah have failed to really get into their groove so far. Today presents a good opportunity to reinvigorate their World Cup campaign. This is a clash between 8th and 10th on the points table, but by no means will it be one devoid of entertainment. Hang around, toss in 20 minutes…

Both sides head into this game having suffered a bad bruising last time around against Australia and South Africa respectively. But the Dutch have been brave throughout this tournament, and upset the apple cart once by toppling South Africa in Dharamsala. They would be confident of repeating such a performance once again today, with a solid lower order and bowling attack to fight fire with fire.

13:00 Local Time, 07:30 GMT, 13:00 IST: A first foray for Eden Gardens for the 2023 World Cup, as it plays host to Bangladesh and Netherlands in an exciting lower half of the table contest. The track has generally been the batter’s best friend in recent IPL games, but we wonder if something different would be in store for this World Cup clash.

Preview by Pratyush Sinha


To put it simplistically, Chennai has been low and slow, and turns when it wants to. Delhi and Mumbai have been flat and drawing good crowds. Bengaluru's been playing fast and slow depending on who's turned up. Dharamsala has been pretty and Ahmedabad huge. But what about Kolkata, that iconic venue that's finally waking up after ten days of Pujo frenzy around it?

On first looks, there's a lot unknown going into this fixture. Netherlands and Bangladesh haven't played each other in an ODI in over 13 years. Now when they are finally set to, it's at a venue which hasn't hosted a World Cup game yet in the edition. And on top of that, you don't even know what's left of the two teams, both of whom are coming on the back of heavy defeats.

Both Taskin Ahmed and Scott Edwards were optimistic about the remaining four games in their campaign but didn't really know what to expect from the venue tomorrow. The Netherlands captain hoped for "some supporters" at the Eden Gardens while Taskin expected a lot of Bangladeshis to make their way to Kolkata and cheer with other "bangali bondhu" (Bengali brothers and sisters) from the city in tow.

But look closer and there's a lot that we know about the fixture, and the teams about each other.

Earlier this year, Max O'Dowd, Paul Van Meekeren and Colin Ackerman were among the Dutch cricketers plying their trade in the Bangladesh Premier League. All three of them had less cricket to turn to in the Netherlands after ICC's scrapping of the ODI Super League. So here they were, in conditions as foreign as they can get, rubbing shoulders with the local players for some game-time. Ryan Cook, the current head coach of Netherlands, knows a thing or two about Bangladesh cricket in return, having served as their fielding coach for about three years previously. So there's familiarity and there are threads to pick up from their T20 World Cup fixture in Hobart last year which Bangladesh narrowly won. And how that plays out in the history of Eden Gardens will be interesting.

The venue, which is the last to dive into this World Cup, is ready. Like it often does, it's cleaned up well. The club house is glowing with LED strips, there are vertical green gardens adorning some entrances and the bucket seat-bearing concrete stands have been painted beige or lilac. Even the floors in the stands have been whitewashed. How that holds up to the footfall isn't too difficult to guess.

Cricket Association of Bengal though wouldn't mind another fresh coat of paint for the stands before the next game. For, on the points table, there isn't a lot separating the two teams who will take centre stage on Saturday. And the more the number of people to watch, the merrier. Because we can really do with a close game of cricket.

When: Match 28 on Saturday (October 28) at 02:00 PM local

Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

What to expect: Good batting conditions, lightning quick outfield and most likely some dew. Pitch no. 5 at the center of the square has been readied for this game, so there isn't a lot to choose from in terms of boundary dimensions on either side but the hard length areas seemed to have some grass to work with. There's some rain expected on the eve of the match but the forecast for the match day is sunny.

Team Watch

Netherlands

Edwards and Cook have resisted wholesale team changes in this World Cup but how that's going to take a hit after a record loss in the last game is anybody's guess. Don't be too surprised if they take the field with the same side once again, given there's no last-minute injury concerns.

Tactics & Strategy

Aryan Dutt has been opening the bowling for Netherlands but they might want to introduce pace early against Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das on a fresh pitch, which could offer some early seam to go with the consistent bounce at the venue.

Probable XI: Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (C, wk), Sybrand Engelbrecht, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren

Bangladesh

Taskin Ahmed, who missed the matches against India and South Africa due to a recurring shoulder injury, is fit again and should come right back into the side. Captain Shakib Al Hasan is back in India after a short trip to Dhaka.

Tactics & Strategy

Straight lines to Shakib, from pacers and spinners alike, should again be the order of the day. The Bangladesh captain hasn't scored an ODI hundred after racking them up in the last World Cup four years ago. And after 56 runs in games in the current edition, he had to rush home for a couple of days to work with his childhood coach. It will be interesting to see the changes that Shakib has made to his game in order to play better through the legside.

Probable XI: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (C), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed

Did you know?

The last ODI at the Eden Gardens, played in January 2023, witnessed 215 all-out play 219/6

In 6 ODIs at the venue since 2017, 35 wickets have fallen to pace and only 13 to spin

Bangladesh and Netherlands have played only two ODIs to date, with the head-to-head being 1-1

In 2023, Taskin averages 12.86 in the death overs (41-50 overs)

What they said

"We are targetting to win every game. Yeah, obviously had similar campaigns so far - it's the last four games of the tournament now before the next stage. So, yeah, obviously a big game, as big as any game we come up for and looking forward to it" - Scott Edwards, Netherlands captain

"It [our campaign] isn't finished yet. If we can win four, it will be a different story maybe. But at the moment we are planning to go match by match" - Taskin Ahmed, Bangladesh pacer

Squads:

Netherlands Squad: Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Colin Ackermann, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards(w/c), Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren, Saqib Zulfiqar, Ryan Klein, Shariz Ahmad, Wesley Barresi

Bangladesh Squad: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Towhid Hridoy, Taskin Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan