After clinching a 2-1 one-day series success against host Bangladesh, England now face the Tigers in a three-match T20 series for the very first time.

Jos Buttler will again captain a strong touring side, as the world champions go in search of completing a white-ball series double.

Curran could be key for England

The competition is fierce in England’s T20 camp and with the likes of Alex Hales, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone missing from this squad, several players have chances to stake their claims.

With the strength in depth available, even the established names will have pressure to continue to deliver and recent results suggest they will continue to perform at the top level.

England have won nine of their last 10 T20 matches going into this series and the world champions are currently sat second in the world rankings.

One player who has stood out in recent times is Sam Curran, who was the Player of the Match in the T20 World Cup final win over Pakistan.

The all-rounder is now fifth in the T20 bowling rankings, with 41 wickets in 35 internationals, and took 3-12 in the Melbourne final. The 24-year-old is 5/1 to be England Team - Top Bowler on Thursday.

The tourists are also boosted by the returns to fitness of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, with both pace bowlers included in the 14-man squad.

The travelling party has real strength in depth in the bowling department, with the likes of Reece Topley, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes also set to feature.

Shakib vital for Bangladesh hopes

In stark contrast to England, Bangladesh have fallen to ninth in the T20 standings after losing seven of their last nine internationals in the shortest format of the game.

The two victories in that run came against the Netherlands and Zimbabwe, both nations who are currently below them in the rankings.

The ability is there though, highlighted by a 4-1 series win over Australia in 2021 which was followed up with a 3-2 success over New Zealand, both on home soil.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan remains the key figure for the Tigers, with the 35-year-old currently top of the T20 all-rounder standings, with a batting average of 23.12 and 128 wickets in 109 matches.

Shakib, who has scored 540 runs in one-day cricket against England, is 8/1 to be named Player of the Match on Thursday.

One player who also caught the eye during the T20 World Cup was opener Litton Das, who scored an impressive 60 in defeat to India.

The wicketkeeper-batter has a T20 average of 22.03 in 65 matches - which includes eight half-centuries - and he can be backed at 10/3 to be Bangladesh Team - Top Batter in the first T20 clash.

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England can overpower teams with the bat

Coach Matthew Mott has seen his England team win their last four T20 matches in a row and the strength in their batting order has been standout in recent years.

The tourists have hit 165+ in two of their last four T20 matches and their top-order power is highlighted in the average stats.

Wicketkeeper-batter Buttler averages 34.69 in T20 internationals, while Ben Duckett has an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 158.16.

Surprisingly these two teams have only met once in T20 cricket, with that clash coming in Abu Dhabi in the group stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup.

It was England who comfortably came out on top, restricting the Tigers to 124-9 in their 20 overs before reaching their target with 35 balls remaining and winning by eight wickets.

Dawid Malan was unbeaten on 28 in that Group 1 encounter and the Yorkshire left-hander is available to back at 15/4 to be England’s Team - Top Batter on Thursday.

All-rounder Moeen Ali, who is also in the squad for this three-match series, took 2-18 from his three overs and the Warwickshire all-rounder is 10/1 to be Player of the Match on Thursday.

bet365 News Team

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