Ireland and Bangladesh will lock horns against each other in the second ODI of the three-match series on May 12. The match is set to be played at County Ground in Chelmsford. The series is still locked at 0-0 as the first match ended in No Result due to rain. Chasing 247 runs, Ireland had lost three wickets for 65 runs in the 17th over when rain interrupted proceedings and the game never resumed. Moreover, Ireland's hopes of directly qualifying for the ODI World Cup also got dashed as they needed to win the series 3-0 to do so.
However, they will now be looking to gain some confidence in the last two ODIs ahead of the World Cup qualifiers set to be played next month in Zimbabwe. Before all the action begins, here's the pitch report of the venue - County Ground, Chelmsford.
Pitch Report: IRE vs BAN
The surface at the venue offers a decent balance between bat and ball. Batters will have to respect conditions before playing their shots. Mushfiqur Rahim did the same and was rewarded in the series opener. A total of nine ODIs have been played at the County Ground and the average first innings score of 210 proves that the bowlers do enjoy bowling at this venue.
Will Toss Matter?
If the weather is around, the toss will matter. It will be tough to face the new ball as it will swing a lot upfront. Chasing seems to be tough here given the record so far in the 50-over format.
County Ground, Chelmsford - The Numbers Game
Basic ODI Stats
- Total matches: 9
- Matches won batting first: 5
- Matches won bowling first: 3
Average ODI Stats
- Average 1st Innings scores: 210
- Average 2nd Innings scores: 132
Score Stats for ODI matches
- Highest total recorded - 273/8 (50 Ov) by ENG-w vs SA-W
- Lowest scored recorded - 98/10 (34.5 Ov) by SA-W vs ENG-W
- Highest score chased - 134/1 (27.0 Ov) by ENG vs AUS
- Lowest score defended - 233/6 (50.0 Ov) by ZIM vs RSA
Full Squads -
Ireland Squad: Paul Stirling, Stephen Doheny, Andrew Balbirnie(c), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker(w), Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Joshua Little, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Craig Young
Bangladesh Squad: Tamim Iqbal (c), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot Hossain, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Rony Talukdar, Yasir Ali, Mustafizur Rahman
