Last Updated on 4 weeks by Charbel Coorey
T20 WC 2021 Match 20: ENG vs BAN Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | ENG vs BAN Dream11 Prediction Today | England vs Bangladesh Key Players | Abu Dhabi Pitch Report
Bangladesh enjoyed their best ever run of form in T20I cricket in the lead up to the T20 World Cup, which saw them jump up to sixth in the rankings and confidence rise with each and every match.
However, they have made a rocky start in each of the two stages of this World Cup. First, they lost in dramatic fashion to Scotland, of which they were able to recover from with wins against Oman and PNG. Next, they lost against Sri Lanka despite putting 171 on the board courtesy of some questionable decision making under pressure. And now, bouncing back from such a defeat will be much tougher against an England side that is one of the contenders for the tournament.
Concerns about Bangladesh have come to fruition so far. They beat Australia and New Zealand in very specific conditions at home, and weren’t put under a great deal of pressure in the process. When the pressure was on against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh didn’t seem to respond effectively, which saw the game slip away. Now, they must bounce back quickly as two straight defeats almost puts you out of Semi Finals contention in such a tough group.
For England, they will be looking to build on their demolition of the West Indies. Given they have such a huge net run rate, another strong performance here can be a major step towards the Semi Finals. Incredibly, England have never played Bangladesh in a T20I, but you can be sure that Eoin Morgan’s team will look to put the Tigers under pressure early and see what Mahmudullah’s team responds with.
Key Players to Watch/Key Stats
England:
- Jos Buttler loves batting at Abu Dhabi. In six T20s on this ground, Buttler has struck 193 runs at an average of 63.67 and strike rate of 149.22. He was also the England batsman who looked most assured against West Indies, finishing with 24* off 22 balls.
- Jonny Bairstow missed out against West Indies (7), but he looked in good touch in the warm up matches (49 off 36 balls and 30 off 21 balls). Bairstow will be looking to build on his record at Abu Dhabi that reads: 4 inns, 97 runs, avg. 24.25, SR 103.19.
- Bairstow is enjoying a fine year in short-form cricket. The right-hander has struck 891 runs in 25 matches at an average of 42.43 and strike rate of 151.02.
- Liam Livingstone, despite some poor recent form, still has some great overall short-form numbers for the year: 1,256 runs, avg. 38.06, SR 154.68. He has the potential to find form today against a Bangladesh attack that struggled at the death against Sri Lanka.
- Moeen Ali was player of the match against West Indies with his 2/17. Bangladesh will have at least two left-handers in their top three (Naim and Shakib), so expect Moeen to bowl up front again.
- Moeen is also coming off a successful IPL campaign with CSK scoring 357 runs at an average of 25.50 and strike rate of 137.30. He also struck 43* off 20 balls in the recent warm up vs India. It will be interesting to see where England uses Moeen in the batting order.
- Adil Rashid took incredible figures of 4/2 vs West Indies. He also took 3/18 in the warm up vs New Zealand. Rashid will be looking to replicate his ODI form vs Bangladesh (11 wickets in four matches at an average of 19) in the T20I format.
Bangladesh:
- Mohammad Naim, who is coming off a 52-ball 62 vs Sri Lanka, has the most T20I runs for Bangladesh this year. The opener has scored 477 runs in 2021 at an average of 26.50 and strike rate of 103.92.
- Shakib Al Hasan wasn’t in the runs vs Sri Lanka (10), but he was a factor with the ball once again (2/17). He has the most wickets so far in the tournament (11), along with the third-most runs (118).
- Mushfiqur Rahim came back into form with a superb 37-ball 57* vs Sri Lanka. Mushfiqur has a good record vs England in ODIs (485 runs, avg. 44.09), so he will be looking to transfer this into the T20I format.
- Mahmdullah also a good record vs England in ODIs (394 runs, avg. 39.40). Also, the skipper will be key as the team’s finisher, and has the second-most runs for Bangladesh in T20Is this year (396, avg. 26.40, SR 111.23).
- Mustafizur Rahman went wicketless against Sri Lanka (0/22), but his wicket-taking potential remains. He has the second-most T20I wickets for Bangladesh this year (24, avg. 14.62, econ. 6.36).
- Mahedi Hasan (0/30) also went wicketless vs Sri Lanka. Mahedi was excellent in the first stage of the tournament, taking five wickets in three matches. He will be key in keeping the England batsmen quiet in the middle overs.

Stats and Facts
- This will be the first ever meeting between England and Bangladesh in a T20 International.
- Jason Roy took a liking to the Bangladesh attack in the 2019 ODI World Cup. He struck 153 against them.
- Chris Woakes has struggled vs Bangladesh in ODI cricket (two wickets in six matches at an average of 139.50). Will he have a better time of things in the T20 format?
- Mushfiqur Rahim’s 50 vs Sri Lanka was his first half-century in 29 T20 World Cup matches. Can he back it up with another?
Possible Playing 11
England could look to stick with the same XI that thrashed West Indies. It remains to be seen if Mark Wood is fit enough after missing the first Super 12s match.
England: 1. Jason Roy, 2. Jos Buttler (wk), 3. Dawid Malan, 4. Jonny Bairstow, 5. Liam Livingstone, 6. Eoin Morgan, 7. Moeen Ali, 8. Chris Woakes, 9. Chris Jordan, 10. Adil Rashid, 11. Tymal Mills/Mark Wood
Mohammad Saifuddin has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Taskin Ahmed is likely to slot in his place. Bangladesh also have the option of wicket-taking left-arm seamer Shoriful Islam.
Bangladesh: 1. Mohammad Naim, 2. Liton Das, 3. Shakib Al Hasan, 4. Mushfiqur Rahim, 5. Mahmudullah (c), 6. Afif Hossain, 7. Nurul Hasan (wk), 8. Mahedi Hasan, 9. Nasum Ahmed/Shoriful Islam, 10. Taskin Ahmed, 11. Mustafizur Rahman
Abu Dhabi Pitch Report and Weather
There has been one match played at Abu Dhabi so far in this World Cup. South Africa crawled to 118/9 before Australia fought their way to the target with three balls remaining. There was pace and bounce for the seamers, along with turn for the spinners.
The chasing team also had more success in the recent IPL, winning five of the eight matches. The average first innings score was 159 in IPL 2021, so the team batting first will be looking to cross that mark.
This is a day game in Abu Dhabi, which will test the players. A top of about 33 degrees is forecast.
Dream11 Prediction
Note: Teams below are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these teams in time after the final playing XIs have been announced.
Option 1:

Option 2:

Fan2Play Prediction
Base team:
- Wicket-keepers: Jos Buttler, Mushfiqur Rahim
- Batsmen: Mahmudullah, Jason Roy
- All-rounders: Shakib Al Hasan, Moeen Ali
- Bowlers: Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Mustafizur Rahman
Also read: Fan2Play vs Dream11 – What’s the difference?
Match Prediction
England, on what is expected to be a decent batting pitch, should win this match.