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Bangladesh’s batsmen, led by Mushfiqur Rahim, have had their moments, but the bowlers have underwhelmed. So said stand-in coach Courtney Walsh on the eve of his side’s must-win encounter against Sri Lanka. In their previous match, Bangladesh had conceded 79 runs in a definitive six-over period against India. Even in the game they won, they conceded 214.There has been one bright spark in their attack, however, and this time it is not the young left-armer with the magic wrists. It is Rubel Hossain who has been Bangladesh’s best, maintaining an economy of 8.22 in three matches. Along the way, he has picked up four wickets. One of those was the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan, who was bowled by perhaps the ball of the tournament so far: a late-swinging, yorker that zipped past Dhawan’s outside edge and flattened middle stump.”Rubel has been very consistent,” Walsh said. “If the other guys stepped up, it would give us a little more cushion. I would be lying if I said I thought we bowled well. We have bowled okay, but not as well as we can. The improvement is coming, but not as quickly as we would like. If we can put it all together, it will be a big plus for us in Friday’s game.””Spinners also have not been as spot-on as we like them to be. They have had good patches. But if everyone did their bit, it will give us a very good chance.”Among those who have under-performed at the Nidahas Trophy has been Mustafizur Rahman, whose 12 overs have gone at 9.75 runs apiece, though he has also taken four wickets in the competition. His cutters have been only sporadically effective on Khettarama decks that have atypically failed to reward revolutions on the ball.Friday’s virtual semi-final will be played on a fresh pitch, which means that seam and swing may be more reliable fast-bowling weapons than cutters. “Someone like Mustafizur Rahman having a good game will help us tremendously,” Walsh said. “I am hoping he can step up to the plate in this crucial game. I know he can. He had some fantastic games in PSL so it is a case of turning it around here. One game can make a difference. It could be his game, or another bowler’s game, but we’re hoping that he comes good.”The attack would appear to have been bolstered with news that Shakib Al Hasan is joining the team ahead of this game, but Walsh was reluctant to suggest Shakib is a certainty for the playing XI. Though he will be with the team in the approach to the game, Shakib is expected to take a fitness test for his injured finger that has kept him out since mid-January.”He is on his way. Like any other player he will be assessed. If he is fit, someone of his class and calibre will be considered to play.”

When we speak of cricketers putting out fires, it’s usually in the context of a batsman playing a rearguard innings. Not so in the case of the New Zealand fast bowler Seth Rance, who is a literal firefighter.On Monday, Rance, who is a station officer with the Greytown Fire Brigade, helped extinguish a blaze that threatened to engulf the White Swan Hotel, a pub in the rural town of Greytown in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand. Crews from across Wairarapa, with Rance among them, arrived on the scene after the pub’s roof caught fire.”The origin of the fire was in the southern end of the building,” Rance told reporters. “There’s a little bit of structural and water damage but it appears to have been caught in time. It’s fortunate we got the call nice and early.”Rance, who has played two ODIs and four T20Is since his international debut last year, isn’t the first New Zealand quick with a day job in the uniformed services – Shane Bond also had a parallel career as a policeman.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:16

Agarkar: India need to look past Dhoni in T20Is

Colin Munro scorched his way to a 54-ball hundred – his second in T20Is this year – to break India and force the series into a decider in Thiruvananthapuram. He made excellent use of four chances to launch New Zealand to 196 for 2 after they had opted to bat and though Virat Kohli made a vintage 65 in response, the rapidly rising scoreboard pressure was just too much to overcome.India were forced into a situation where they had to score more than two runs a ball in the last 10 overs. Even the best finishers struggle to maintain such a high pace for such a long time. Hardik Pandya, new to the role, fell for 1 and even an old hand like MS Dhoni never got going. At a stage when the asking rate was nudging 15, he was playing a run-a-ball innings, unable to hit Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi off their plan of attacking his pads.A better fielding effort could have helped the hosts as well. Bhuvneshwar Kumar dropped a very tough chance at deep midwicket – the kind where a player has to decide whether to take the catch or save a six. Munro was on 36 then. He gave a far simpler opportunity to Shreyas Iyer at long-on but the ball was parried the ball over the rope for six. A wayward throw from Rohit Sharma came to Munro’s rescue in the 12th over. And finally, on 79, he was dropped by Chahal running back from cover.Given so many lives, Munro capitalised. His batting is founded on a simple strategy: stay leg side of the ball and belt it and an easy-paced hit-through-the-line Rajkot pitch was right up his alley. He crunched seven sixes – all in the arc between deep midwicket and long-on. The carnage began when he welcomed Mohammed Siraj into international cricket with a punched four to the backward point boundary. Siraj then switched to slower offcutters, but Munro waited for those and carted a brace of sixes. By then New Zealand had passed their first fifty opening stand in the limited-overs tour of India.At the other end, Martin Guptill played a Jekyll-and-Hyde innings. He laboured to 14 off 22 balls against pace and hit 31 off 19 balls against spin. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar had shackled him with seam movement and bounce, but he broke free against Chahal, who oddly bowled into the batsman’s hitting arc. Guptill simply planted his front foot down and took the legspinner for three successive boundaries in his first over, including a signature loft that sailed into the sightscreen. Chahal, however, recovered to best Guptill for 45 with a front-of-the-hand flipper. Three overs later, Siraj had Kane Williamson holing out to deep square leg for 12.But even with six bowlers, India couldn’t stop Munro. Axar Patel and Pandya were also lined up and sent over the boundary. Munro reached his first fifty off just 26 balls – after Iyer’s drop – and brought up his second off 28 balls. This meant he joined Brendon McCullum – his former captain and someone he still seeks out for advice – in elite company. They, along with Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis, are the only batsmen with two T20I tons.Munro had a job to do with the ball too. He introduced the world to his knuckle ball and snaffled a skier of a return catch to cut short Iyer’s innings at 23. The Mumbai batsman had added 54 for the third wicket with Kohli to give India hope after Trent Boult’s double-strike in his first over. The left-arm quick first burst through the gate of Shikhar Dhawan with a nip-backer and four balls later, he coaxed an outside edge from Rohit with extra bounce. When Pandya was fooled by a googly from Ish Sodhi for 1, India were reduced to 67 for 4 in the 10th over.The early wickets, however, did not bother Kohli. He forayed down the track and drilled Boult over his head. Then he targetted Santner and hit him for three boundaries in five balls, including a shovelled six over long-on. However, as the ball got older, it began to grip in the pitch and that brought Sodhi into the game big time. A peach of a legbreak in the 13th over very nearly had Dhoni stumped for 8.Spin continued being New Zealand’s trump card through the middle overs as they tied down one end which kept piling the pressure on Kohli at the other.An equation of 85 off 30 balls needed both batsmen to fire but try as Dhoni might, he couldn’t find his range. He came down the track but rarely got the leverage he was looking for. He nudged the ball into the deep to steal twos but the fielders were wise to that trick. He even swung right across the line but nothing worked. He was 28 off 28 at the end of the 18th over.To compensate for that, Kohli charged out to Santner and was caught behind. Boult then took over, picked up a couple more wickets and wrapped the game up with a career-best 4 for 34. He had recorded his worst ODI and T20I outings over the past week but found a way to raise his game when New Zealand needed it most.

ScorecardSouth Australian left-arm paceman Nick Winter claimed his second five-wicket haul in just his second match to help restrict New South Wales to a modest day-one total at the SCG.Winter, who took 5 for 85 on debut against Victoria last week, ripped the heart out of an experienced Blues middle order, with the home side threatening to build a huge platform.Daniel Hughes and Kurtis Patterson put together a 117-run stand to move the total to 2 for 183 after the Blues had won the toss. But Hughes fell seven short of a century to the part-time spin of Tom Cooper.Winter removed Moises Henriques shortly after, and the Blues lost their last eight wickets for just 73 runs to give the Redbacks the upper hand.

ScorecardSophie Devine clobbers a sweep over the midwicket boundary•Getty Images

New Zealand went 2-0 up in the four-match T20I series after Pakistan fell 39 short of their 151-run target in Sharjah. This after New Zealand endured a sensational collapse, losing five wickets in six deliveries to slide from 138 for 3 to 139 for 8.Electing to bat first, openers Sophie Devine (70 off 44 balls) and captain Suzie Bates (52 off 43 balls) raised the 100 in just the 13th over, before Javeria Khan struck to break the stand and then dismiss Katie Perkins in her next over.It was in the subsequent over that the dramatic collapse unfolded, starting with Amy Satterthwaite’s wicket, followed by the run outs of Katey Martin, Maddy Green and Sam Curtis. In the next over, Sadia Yousuf removed Thamsyn Newton for a duck. Anna Paterson and Leigh Kasperek then batted through the last two overs to help cross 150.Pakistan started slowly in their chase with openers Nahida Khan and Sidra Ameen adding just 29 runs in the first five overs. It was Bates who halted their progress, dismissing Ameen for 18 and running Nahida out within the next two overs.Javeria and captain Bismah Mahroof couldn’t bring out the big hits and their wickets left Pakistan reeling at 77 for 4. Aliya Riyaz (23 off 22 balls) and Sidra Nawaz took Pakistan across 100, but offspinner Satterthwaite dismissed both of them in the penultimate over. But by then the game was well and truly out of grasp.

Tier 1Khulna Division completed a hat-trick of National Cricket League titles after crushing Dhaka Division by an innings and 49 runs. They have now become the country’s most successful first-class team having eclipsed five-time champions Rajshahi Divison.Mehidy Hasan set up the victory at the BKSP-3 ground with a seven-wicket haul in the first innings as Dhaka were bowled out for 113 in 38.4 overs. Mehidy’s 7 for 24 was his best bowling figures, and he finished the game with his third 10-for in first-class cricket.Khulna replied with 459 for 8 in only 91 overs with Anamul Haque making his second first-class double-hundred while Mahedi Hasan blasted 177. Anamul struck 23 fours and four sixes in his 251-ball 202. Mahedi hammered 21 fours and two sixes in his 160-ball effort. The pair added 295 runs for the second wicket.Later, Mehidy and Rubel Hossain took three wickets each as Dhaka were bowled out for 297 in their second innings on the fourth morning.Nasir Hossain fell five runs short of a triple-century during Rangpur Division‘s drawn game against Barisal Division in Chittagong. Nasir’s 295, spanning ten hours and 510 balls and including 32 fours and three sixes, is now the second-highest score by a Bangladeshi in a first-class match.His 368-run fifth wicket stand with Ariful Haque, who made 162, is now the fifth highest stand in Bangladesh’s first-class history. Ariful struck 10 fours and two sixes in his 290-ball effort. Their partnership was the cornerstone of Rangpur’s mammoth 614 for 7 in reply to Barisal’s first=innings 335. Sohag Gazi had top-scored for Barisal with 99.Barisal reached 217 for four on the final day and were relegated to Tier 2 alongside Dhaka Division.Milton Ahmed

Tier 2Rajshahi Division were one of two teams to earn promotion for next season’s NCL after they drew their last Tier-2 game against Dhaka Metropolis.Batting first, Dhaka Metro posted 328 with Shadman Islam and Marshall Ayub hitting fifties. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took 5 for 105.Rajshahi’s reply was massive, as they posted 668 in 152.4 overs. Nazmul Hossain Shanto made 194 with 21 fours in seven hours and 42 minutes. He was involved in a record 341-run opening partnership with Mizanur Rahman, who made 175 off 210 balls, which included 30 fours and two sixes. Their partnership is a new high for opening stands in Bangladesh’s domestic cricket.Later, Farhad Reza also chipped in with 106 off 151 balls, an innings included 12 fours and five sixes.The game meandered to a draw as Dhaka Metro reached 118 for five on the final day. Shafiul Islam took three wickets.Sylhet Division also gained promotion to next year’s Tier 1 after a drawn game against Chittagong Division.Chittagong were bowled out for 215 with Abul Hasan and Enamul Haque jnr taking three wickets each. Yasir Ali top-scored with 81.Offspinner Iftekhar Sajjad then took a five-wicket haul as Sylhet were shot out for just 137. Left-arm quick Mehedi Hasan Rana took three wickets.Chittagong then stretched their lead to 458 thanks to more good form from Yasir, who struck an unbeaten century. His 102 came off 176 balls and contained seven fours and a six.Rajin Saleh then played a typical backs-to-the-wall innings to save Sylhet from defeat, his 104 coming in five hours and 36 minutes on the final day. Sylhet reached 309 for 7 in 126 overs. Iftekhar and Rana took three wickets each.

Sri Lanka have finally confirmed their interest in having Chandika Hathurusingha as head coach, with the president of the SLC Thilanga Sumathipala saying he would be “a great fit for us”.The position had fallen vacant in June earlier this year when Graham Ford resigned after a second stint that lasted a mere 15 months. The SLC elevated Nic Pothas as interim coach as it began to look for a suitable candidate.Hathurusingha has previously admitted to a desire to give back to Sri Lankan cricket but was contracted with the Bangladesh Cricket Board as their head coach. He might have occupied the post until the end of the 2019 World Cup, but in October, as Bangladesh were touring South Africa, Hathurusingha sent in his resignation to the BCB and cut all ties with the board.The SLC release states it is currently in discussion with Hathurusingha’s lawyers and is ready to “offer him the position” of head coach if he has been released from his contract with the BCB. To that end, Sumathipala has written to his counterpart Nazmul Hassan for further information.”There’s no doubt that Hathuru would be a great fit for us with the direction of both our short and long terms goals,” Sumathipala said. “I have written personally to the BCB President – Mr. Nazmul Hassan informing him of our intentions. The Executive Committee is both convinced & confident that he is the right man for the job, and we would like to bring him on board in a professional and transparent manner”If Hathurusingha is appointed Sri Lanka’s coach, his first assignment may well be against Bangladesh, whom they play in a tri-series also featuring with Zimbabwe in January 2018.

When most Bangladesh players got away from the game after the BPL in December, Mominul Haque sought technical corrections from his mentor Mohammad Salahuddin. The small change has made a big difference in Mominul’s approach against spinners, as he can now move forward and back more swiftly without being too predictable to the bowlers.The change in technique has so far contributed to three first-class centuries in the last three weeks, including the 176 against Sri Lanka. Salahuddin, who was Bangladesh’s assistant coach under Jamie Siddons, now coaches two top domestic teams but is better known as mentor to many Bangladesh players including Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mominul. His connection with Shakib, Mominul, Abdur Razzak and Nasir Hossain goes back to his days as BKSP’s chief cricket coach.Salahuddin said that Mominul’s change in technique was about the initial step he took against spinners which limited his options against the fuller deliveries. Seven of his last 10 dismissals before the ongoing Chittagong Test were to offspinners like R Ashwin, Dilruwan Perera, Nathan Lyon and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. On many occasions, he was either rooted to the back foot with no room to maneuver or confused whether to go front or back.The dismissal to Rangana Herath on the second morning was more Kusal Mendis’ credit as he took a reflex catch at short leg. Otherwise, Mominul batted at an impressive strike rate of 93.23 against Herath, Dilruwan and Lakshan Sandakan, scoring off more than 50% of their 149 deliveries.”Mominul was always fluent against spin but in recent times, I had seen something wrong with his initial foot movement,” Salahuddin told . “He was taking a step while playing the shot. Spinners usually bowl a fuller length so that step was restricting his options. Spin bowlers understood this problem and trapped him. I worked on his initial movement, which he practiced.”He was happy that it worked in the first BCL match. He kept working at it and got results. You saw him on the first day how he played in front, back, stepped out and used the entire crease. He used his feet to thwart the spinners who couldn’t guess what he was doing.”Salahuddin said that Mominul’s problem against spin should have been eliminated long ago by the Bangladesh coaching staff, instead the problem was identified and used against him by the opposition. “I was surprised when someone said that he was weak against the short ball. I was shocked when I heard that he was weak against spin,” he said. “There aren’t many in Bangladesh who play spin better than Mominul.”Mominul’s issue was technical. It isn’t that he never scored runs. A batsman can have a problem. They sometimes can’t catch it quickly since they are always playing matches. So it is the coach’s responsibility to identify and rectify the problem. It is easy to cast him aside but that’s not the solution.”Salahuddin also felt that being kept away from ODIs also hurt Mominul’s batting rhythm. He has been picked only for Tests since the 2015 World Cup, giving him long breaks when the senior side is playing other formats.”You will notice that Mominul hadn’t made a century after getting dropped from the ODI squad,” Salahuddin explained. “The reality, at least in Bangladesh, is that it is hard to keep form by only playing Tests. We play fewer Tests. It is hard to only work on your own, away from the team. I am sure that given the opportunity, he could play such innings in ODIs too.”This is not an excuse though. It is not just working on your batting but such long breaks also has an effect on a cricketer’s mentality. It is tough to motivate oneself. Mominul has been able to remain strong, but anyone else would have been dropped by now. Bangladesh cricket has many such examples.”Correcting Mominul was yet another example of how Salahuddin has been helpful to a Bangladesh player. From his days as Bangladesh’s assistant coach, he has always been critical to their success. The first time he was in the limelight was by helping Razzak return to international cricket after the ICC suspended him for an illegal bowling action. Even when Salahuddin worked in Malaysia, he would be sought out by many players like Shakib to help in technical matters.In 2011, Shakib returned to Dhaka from the IPL for a few days to work on his batting with Salahuddin. There are numerous such incidents and while some at the BCB recognise to use him in an official capacity again, they turned their backs to him after approving his appointment as a batting consultant last August.

ScorecardAiden Markram endured a nightmare start to his Durham career as he collected a pair on day one of his side’s Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash against Kent, as 21 wickets fell at the Emirates Riverside.Markram and his team-mates were skittled out in one session in the first innings, but bounced back to bowl Kent out for 169. However, with six overs left in the final session, the South African lost his wicket for a duck for the second time.Matt Henry was the star with the ball for the visitors as he claimed five wickets in the morning session before returning late in the day to take the scalp of Markram for the second time, handing Kent a huge advantage heading into the second day.The home side endured a nightmare start to the campaign, losing Markram in the third over, lbw to Henry. Will Smith followed in the same over when he lost his off stump. Gareth Harte, playing his maiden County Championship match, notched a couple of boundaries, but he became the New Zealand seamer’s third wicket lbw for 16.Henry continued his onslaught with the vital scalp of Paul Collingwood for only four runs. Michael Richardson provided some resistance, but fell lbw to Henry for 15, leaving Durham 46 for 7 after Harry Podmore claimed the scalps of Graham Clark and Stuart Poynter. Durham were in danger of posting their lowest first-class score – 67 made against Middlesex in 1996.However, James Weighell, Nathan Rimmington and Matthew Potts were able to guide them past the total with a streak of aggression towards the end of the innings. Darren Stevens came back into the attack and was able to wrap up the tail, claiming three wickets, to dismiss the home side for 91.Kent’s reply got off to a poor start when Daniel Bell-Drummond was dismissed by Chris Rushworth for a duck. Sean Dickson and Heino Kuhn battled back, putting on 63 for the second wicket. Dickson was in full flow before he edged to Markram at slip off the bowling of Potts. Collingwood and Rimmington struck to reduce the visitors to 80 for 4.Kuhn and Stevens passed Durham’s first-innings total and the 100-run mark before tea. Stevens failed to see out the first over after the break when he fell for 17 lbw to Weighell. Kuhn remained undeterred and he notched his fifty by displaying patience at the crease, reaching the milestone off 119 deliveries, including 10 boundaries.The South African gave away his wicket on 54 with a loose stroke off Will Smith. It sparked a collapse as Rimmington dismissed Adam Rouse and Henry in the same over. Will Gidman provided valuable resistance with an innings of 19, but Weighell wrapped up the innings with two late strikes, bowling Kent out for 168 and a lead of 78.Henry once again made early inroads when he had Markram caught at mid-wicket for a third-ball duck, leaving Durham 65 runs behind at the close with a huge challenge to overturn the deficit.

Match facts

Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Start time 1930 local (1330 GMT)4:18

Agarkar: Good test for all teams ahead of World T20

Big Picture

It was all telenovela in 2015. MS Dhoni as the hero who had gone on to be perceived as villain. “If I am the reason for all the bad that is happening to Indian cricket, definitely I would love to step away.” R Ashwin was the steadfast sidekick. “If my captain asks me to die on the field, I’ll do it.” And Mustafizur Rahman was the shy, rising star; he had become a world-record holder after playing two ODIs and you could barely get two words out of him. All he would do was flash that big, toothy grin and say he was happy to perform for the team. There is no sign of a resumption of the ad wars, but the rest of the protagonists are back for season two, with the added twist of an Asia Cup and World T20 implications.Bangladesh’s limited-overs team has maintained their Mirpur stronghold jealously since failing to chase 106 against India in 2014. They have played 19 matches and won 14 of them. The trouble is, out of those five losses, three have come in T20Is. With their one-day cricket in prime order, the coach Chandika Hathurusingha has been concentrating on building skills that are vital to success in the shortest format. The team goes into the Asia Cup after a couple of camps in Khulna and Chittagong.India are not light on preparation either. They have been playing T20 cricket since the start of the year (the carnival continues through to May with the IPL) and are quite certain of their first XI. The only issue might be some of the players in that XI have not had enough match practice. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and the returning Virat Kohli have been merciless in their plunder of runs that the middle order has not had much to do. Over six matches, Yuvraj Singh has faced only 26 balls and rookie allrounder Hardik Pandya 18. India do not seem to be worried though, as both Dhoni and Kohli have said their players are well tuned to T20 cricket thanks to the IPL.

Form Guide

(last five completed matches)India WWLWW
Bangladesh LLWWL

Watch out for

Yuvraj Singh signs in at the dotted line under returning old favourites. Fifteen years since his international debut, he is still madly sought after. The last three IPL auctions have netted him a whopping Rs 37 crores. At the team hotel in Dhaka, he was spirited aside by a few players from the Oman team to take some pictures and share some secrets. It is unlikely that anyone will ever forget what happened the last time he was in these parts, but with a Sri Lanka rematch and a clash with Pakistan around the corner, maybe he has the opportunity to do something about that.Mahmudullah signs in at the dotted line under captain’s understudy. He is seen as an option to take over Bangladesh after Mashrafe Mortaza having led Barisal Bulls, a team sans any big names, into the final of the Bangladesh Premier League. But he is not seen as the best fit for T20s. He tends to be grilled about his strike-rate a lot and when the question was put forward this time, he quipped that he will try to hit the first ball he faces in the Asia Cup for six.

Team news

Dhoni returned fitter and leaner after a rare break from international cricket just before the Australia tour in January, but suffered an onset of back spasms two days out from India’s first match of the Asia Cup and three weeks out from their first match of the World T20. The team management said he was recovering well and will be assessed before the match. If he is not fit, Parthiv Patel, who last played for India in 2012, has arrived as back-up. But if Parthiv is brought in, will he fit in the middle order or at the top where he’s had most of his success in domestic limited-overs cricket?India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk)/Parthiv Patel, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Ashish NehraCoach Hathurusingha was impressed by Mohammad Mithun in the Chittagong camp, so he could get a first look in ahead of Imrul Kayes. Both Taskin Ahmed and Abu Hider might miss out while Nasir Hossain too could be benched with Nurul Hasan taking wicketkeeping and late-hitting duties.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Soumya Sarkar, 2 Mohammad Mithun, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Arafat Sunny, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Al-Amin Hossain

Pitch and conditions

Mirpur sprung a green pitch on India’s juniors at the Under-19 World Cup and more recently, the final game of the Asia Cup qualifiers played under lights helped the new ball dart around considerably. If the early phase is seen through, however, lots of runs are on offer. There is also the slim possibility of rain playing spoilsport.

Stats and trivia

• Since 2014, Bangladesh batsman have scored at 132.33 in the last four overs, which is the worst among Full Members in T20Is. In the Powerplay, the Bangladesh batsmen’s strike-rate of 112 is second worst after Pakistan’s.
• In T20Is since 2014, India’s No. 5 to No. 7 have averaged just 16.78 – only Hong Kong, Nepal and Papua New Guinea have averaged worse.

Quotes

“As many different teams as we play before the World T20, it gives us an opportunity to assess what the teams are like, what the balance is like, what their strengths and weaknesses are and where we stand against them.”
“We had all our experiments done against Zimbabwe in January. There’s no room for any such experiments in the Asia Cup. This is a very important tournament ahead of the World T20.”