World Cup 2011 Live Score Bangladesh vs Ireland Match: Ban chose bat first

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and decided to bat first against Ireland in the Group B match of the ICC World Cup at Mirpur in Dhaka on Friday.


Smarting from their opening match defeat against India, Bangladesh will look to bring their campaign back on track, avenging their previous losses to Ireland.

Four years ago, Ireland had defeated Bangladesh by 74 runs in the Super Eights stage of the 2007 World Cup in West Indies, before beating the Asian team in the Twenty20 World Cup in England in 2009.

Bangladesh will be fully aware that another slip-up will make it difficult for them to reach the knock-out stage as they have to beat Ireland and the Netherlands, and one of the sides from England, South Africa and the West Indies.

Although they lost against India, Bangladesh didn't bat badly, chasing a mammoth 370 as Shakib's men posted 283 for nine in 50 overs.

Opener Tamim Iqbal led the chase with a patient 70, while Shakib scored a half-century. Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan all got starts.

The return of former skipper Mohammad Ashraful will lend solidarity to the middle order.

But the matter of concern for Bangladesh is their lacklustre bowling which allowed India to pile up 370 in the opener. Their seamer Shafiul Islam went for 69 runs in his seven overs while new-ball partner Rubel Hossain gave 60 runs in 10 wicketless overs.

Spinners Abdur Razzak and Naeem Islam also conceded 74 and 54, respectively in nine and seven overs and Shakib will have to choose his options carefully.

Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim has already made the team's intention clear saying they would settle for nothing less than a win on Friday.

Ireland, on the other hand, have made massive strides in international cricket since their giant-killing act in the previous World Cup, where they knocked out Pakistan in the first round, before beating Bangladesh in the super eight.

William Porterfield's team has nine players who were part of the campaign in the Caribbeans, besides the presence of Ed Joyce, who played 17 ODIs for England before opting to turn out for Ireland.

"The way we are playing right now, we'll be confident going into the match on Friday. The conditions might be different from what we are used to, but not necessarily a difficult one," Porterfield said.


Bangladesh Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam.

Ireland Squad: William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Niall O'Brien, Kevin O'Brien, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, John Mooney, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Andrew White, Ed Joyce.