Bahrain vs Italy, ICC CWC CHALL B, Today Match Prediction

BHR vs ITA Match Prediction & Analysis

Bahrain and Italy cricket team will lock horns in the 32nd game of the ICC CWC Challenge League B 2024-26 on Sunday, 9th August. The venue for this match is University of Dar es Salaam Ground 1, Tanzania and the scheduled start time is 11:30 IST. 

Bahrain recently tied the T20I series with Kenya, while Italy enter the contest as the table-toppers in the CWC Challenge League B. Both teams would eye to go for the winning start. 

H2H history: Bahrain and Italy have played only one international match against each other. Italy won the only game during the CWC Challenge League by 6 wickets. 

Current Standings: Italy are standing at the second spot with 16 points and Bahrain are placed at the fourth spot with 9 points.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Bahrain Preview

Bahrain head into the contest on the back of a tough loss against Italy. It was their last game before heading to break. They will resume their action in the ICC CWC Challenge League B. Bahrain were bowled out on 130 runs and the opposition chased down the total in 18.1 overs. Irony is Bahrain will face the same opponent in the resumption of the league.  

Bahrain earlier beat Singapore by 8 wickets. They bowled out the opposition on 117 runs and chased down the total with losing two wickets. Fiaz Ahmed scored unbeaten 50 and Sohail Ahmed contributed 40. Both added 72 runs for the third wicket. The latter also picked up four wickets for 17 runs and Imran Khan bagged three wickets. Bahrain are on the finishing line of relegation. They have four wins out of ten games. Bahrain are currently sitting at the fourth spot in the League B. 

Sohail Ahmed is the leading run-scorer for Bahrain, scoring 274 runs in 9 innings at an average of 45.66. He has scored two half-centuries in the competition with the best score of 70. Asif Ali also contributed 221 runs at an average of 36.83. Imran Anwar is the leading wicket-taker for them in the CWC Challenge League, picking 11 wickets at an average of 19.09. Sachin Kumar also has nine wickets in 4 innings. 

Bahrain Predicted Playing XI:

Rishab Ramesh, Shahbaz Badar(w), Fiaz Ahmed, Sohail Ahmed, Ahmer Bin Nasir(c), Sai Sarthak, Muhammed Basil, Junaid Aziz, Rizwan Butt, Abdul Majid Malik, Imran Khan

Italy Preview

Italy enter the tournament with an impressive victory against Hong Kong China. They bowled out the opposition on 146 runs, thanks to Jaspreet Singh's 4-wicket haul and Madsen's two wickets for just 4 runs in three overs. The Italian side chased down the total in 23.2 overs. Captain Marcus Campopiano scored 46 and Wayne Madsen remained not out on 73. Both added 122 runs for the third wicket and assured an easy win for Italy. 

Italy earlier defeated Bahrain by six wickets while chasing 131. Their one game against Uganda was abandoned due to rains. Italy still managed to reach second in the points table with 16 points. They also posted the highest total of the tournament with 342 runs against Hong Kong. Italy have seven wins out of ten games. One more victory can push them to top spot in the table. 

Captain Marcus Campopiano could be a player to watch out for. He has scored 329 runs in 8 innings at an average of 54.83. Emilio Gay has contributed 269 runs in just 4 innings at an average of 134.50. He scored fifty-plus score in each game. CJPF Kalugamage is the leading wicket-taker for Italy with 15 wickets at an average of 16.46. Gareth Berg has 14 wickets to his name in 7 innings at an average of 12.42. 

Italy Predicted Playing XI:

Justin Mosca, Marcus Campopiano(w/c), Anthony Mosca, Wayne Madsen, Nicholas Maiolo, Gareth Berg, Grant Stewart, Gian Meade, Crishan Kalugamage, Jaspreet Singh, Thomas Draca

Weather Conditions

The weather at Cundinamarca, Bogota on 9th August is expected to be cloudy with a high of 17°C and a low of 10°C, along with a 25% chance of rain and north winds at 10 kph. 

BHR vs ITA Pitch Report

The surface at Dar es Salaam Ground 1, Tanzania is good for batting. It also offers a good balance between bat and ball. Spin assistance will be there in the middle overs. In the last five matches at this ground, the average first batting score in the List-A is 232. It is a decent ODI batting surface where batsmen need to play sensibly. 

Score prediction: 

If Bahrain bat first - 180-200 runs 

If Italy bat first - 225-235 runs 

Toss: To Bat

In the last five Men’s T20Is played at this venue, chasing teams have won two matches. The pitch will be fresh for the opening game of the tournament and is expected to be batting-friendly. The surface has generally improved as matches have progressed, although batting could become slightly more challenging during the second innings.

Both teams have enjoyed success while batting first in the past, so they are likely to prefer setting a target in this fixture. Winning the toss could therefore be important, with the captain potentially opting to bat first and make the most of the fresh conditions. 

Toss Prediction: Italy to win the coin toss.