Bangladesh v Scotland predictions and cricket betting tips: Cross can prosper

Free cricket tips, best bets and analysis for Oman v Papua New Guinea and Bangladesh v Scotland in the T20 World Cup on Sunday.

Where to watch

Oman v Papua New Guinea
Sky Sports Cricket, 11am Sunday

Bangladesh v Scotland
Sky Sports Cricket, 3pm Sunday

Best bets

Matthew Cross top Scotland runscorer
1pt 7-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Afif Hossain to hit most sixes in Bangladesh v Scotland
1pt 14-1 bet365

Match preview

Scotland's T20 World Cup campaign begins with a tough first-round Group B fixture against Bangladesh, who beat Australia 4-1 and New Zealand 3-2 in their last two Twenty20 series.

Both of those victories came in home conditions on treacherous batting pitches but the Tigers are hot favourites to continue their fine form in Sunday's opener in Oman.

Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is set to play just two days after turning out for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League final and left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman has been back to his best this year.

Scotland wicketkeeper Matthew Cross is an eye-catching price to top-score for the underdogs given that he has made five fifties in 20 T20 international innings batting in the top three.

He was out for a duck in last week's official T20 international against Namibia but batted at number three against the same opponents in Thursday's warm-up game and cracked 57 off just 33 balls.

Bangladesh's lack of power hitters limits their Twenty20 potential and they averaged just 2.2 sixes per game in ten matches against Australia and New Zealand.

All-rounder Afif Hossain loves to take the aerial route, however, hitting at least one six in nine of his 14 T20 innings this year. He struck three maximums in an unbeaten 49 against the Black Caps last time out and is worth a small bet to hit the most sixes in the match.

The tournament begins with co-hosts Oman taking on Papua New Guinea in Scotland's group. The pair have never met in a Twenty20 international – their cricketing rivalry has not yet reached the level of India v Pakistan or England v Australia – but Oman won both of their ODI meetings in the last month and are long odds-on for victory.

T20 World Cup format

First round
There is a round-robin format in Group A (Ireland, Namibia, Sri Lanka and Netherlands) and Group B (Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and Oman) and the top two from each section progress to the Super 12 stage.

Super 12
The 12 teams are split into Group One and Group Two. Each team plays every other nation in their group and the top two advance to the semi-finals.

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