No Fizz as Tigers asked to bat first against SA

Bangladesh have lost the toss against South Africa and were sent in to bat first in their fourth and penultimate Super 12 fixture at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi today. 

Bangladesh have installed two major changes in their starting eleven with Shamim Hossain replacing Shakib Al Hasan, who got ruled out of the world cup after having suffered a hamstring injury during the Tigers' previous game against the West Indies on October 29, while Nasum Ahmed has replaced the Tigers' talisman Mustafizur Rahman.

South Africa, on the other hand, have kept their first team unchanged and stuck to their winning combination which featured against Sri Lanka in the previous match.  

It is a crucial encounter for the two sides, more so for the Proteas as a win against the Tigers would keep the fate of their semi-final berth in their own hands when South Africa meets England in the final match of the Super 12.

Whereas Bangladesh, after three successive defeats and still yet to seal a victory in the T20 World Cup's main (pre-knockout) group phase's history, would be looking to rewrite history and in the process, stay mathematically alive in the competition for as long as possible.

For Tigers to somehow escape into the semis against overwhelming odds, not only they must win their two remaining games, and preferably by a big margin, but also hope that the following results go in their favour, where -- Sri Lanka beat West Indies, who in turn beat Australia and South Africa lose against England. In that case, all teams in Group 1, except England, will be level on 4 points, after which the net run-rate will be in play, deciding who gets to join England in the final four.    

Playing XI: 

Bangladesh:  Mohammad Naim,  Liton Das (wk),  Soumya Sarkar,  Mushfiqur Rahim,  Mahmudullah (capt),  Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan,  Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed

South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma(c), Aiden Markram, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.