Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan needs to play a crucial role with both bat and ball to help Bangladesh register a win over Scotland Getty

Bangladesh will take on the Scotland in their opening Group A clash of the 2015 ICC World Cup at Saxton Oval, Nelson, on Thursday.

Where to watch live

The match starts at 10pm GMT (on Wednesday). Live coverage is on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD. Click here for live streaming link.

Overview

Bangladesh suffered their first defeat of the World Cup after losing their last match against Sri Lanka at the MCG. The Lankans posted 332 runs for the loss of one wicket as Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara remained unbeaten until the end, after scoring 161 and 105 runs respectively.

In reply, Bangladesh were bowled out for 240 runs in 47 overs, resulting in a defeat by 92 runs. Sabbir Rahman (53) and Shakib Al Hasan (46) were the two top scorers for Mashrafe Mortaza's side.

Bangladesh were poor on the field and several drop catches did cost them the game heavily. Should they had converted those catches into wickets, they could have had a close finish against Sri Lanka.

Scotland, on the other hand have lost all three matches played so far in the tournament. They came close to sealing a win against Afghanistan, but the Asian side managed a narrow win by 1 wicket, chasing down a target of 211 runs.

Scotland are at the bottom of Group A, while Bangladesh are placed third with three points after three games. They are level on points with fourth place Australia, but have a better net run rate.

Prediction

Bangladesh to win

Betting odds (888Sport.com)

  • Bangladesh to win: 2/9
  • Scotland to win: 33/10

Team news

Bangladesh

Possible XI: Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Sabbir Rahman, Mominul Haque, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain.

Scotland

Possible XI: Kyle Coetzer, Calum McLeod, Freddie Coleman, Matt Machan, Preston Mommsen (C), Richie Berrington, Mathew Cross (WK), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Majid Haq, Iain Wardlaw.

Scotland