NIDAHAS TROPHY 2018

Bangladesh seek fortune change as India face bouncebackability test

by Shirshendu Roy • Last updated on

While India will continue to make the best of these resources and win matches, they will also be tempted to present every youngster an opportunity to showcase their skills. © AFP

Bangladesh's confidence is at an all-time low with just one win from their last 10 T20Is. However, India's defeat at the hands of hosts Sri Lanka in the curtain raiser would have provided them some solace, and the prospect of facing off against a second-string Indian outfit will only give them hope. However, that doesn't guarantee them a win at the outset and skipper Mahmudullah and his boys will do well to remind themselves of that.

The last time these two teams met it was probably overconfidence that got the better of Bangladesh after they had swiped off 9 off the 11 required, off the first three balls of the final over of the 2016 World T20. Mahmudullah, who was one of the crucial wickets to fall in that fateful over, knows how even a little bit of complacency could come back to haunt them. They are without Shakib Al Hasan for starters, which robs Bangladesh off four miserly overs. His batting at a time when Bangladesh are struggling to sustain momentum through the middle order will be missed. However, opener Tamim Iqbal, before hopping onto the flight to Colombo, urged his teammates to not panic.

In the last 12 months, Bangladesh have played six T20Is and only three batsmen have scored over 100 runs - Soumya Sarkar (205), Mahmudullah (146) and Mushfiqur Rahim (110). The glaring exception in this list is Tamim, who has played only two of these six games. However, the team will turn to him in these desperate times to provide them with a ballistic start at the top. The bowling too seems to be short on ideas with Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain having been dealt harshly by the batsmen in recent times.

The challenges for the young Indian unit are different. To be without six of its starting players including skipper Virat Kohli is a setback in itself but it depends grossly on how the youngsters stepping in perceive the situation. While India will continue to make the best of these resources and win matches, they will also be tempted to present every youngster an opportunity to showcase their skills. Vijay Shankar's induction would have made the management happy while Shardul Thakur showed great heart to come back from a ravaging 27-run opening over. Washington Sundar was his usual self bowling with the new ball. Although the sample size of one loss is too little for India to seriously read into, they seem clearly confused with the balance of their side. Shankar and Suresh Raina will be expected to pitch in with four overs, whereas someone like a Sundar will have to double up his show with the bat whenever the need be.

As the series progresses, India will offer chances to Axar Patel and KL Rahul too - both having travelled with the team for some time now. Even Mohammed Siraj will have his chance at redeeming himself, so will Deepak Hooda who will look to showcase his prowess with the bat. All experiments without costing India a win.

When: Thursday (March 8), 7 PM Local, 1900 IST

Where: R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

What to expect: Another humid day is expected in the capital city, but this time with a remote possibility of thundershowers in the afternoon. Shikhar Dhawan spoke about the presence of dew in the opening game and that could show up again on Thursday.

Team News:

India

India find themselves in a tricky situation, one where they will be divided between handing the other guys on the bench a chance but give the ones who played in the first game a little longer run. Mohammed Siraj could be drafted in to replace Shardul but the latter recovered well from the early jolt.

Bangladesh

The No.3 conundrum continues to haunt Bangladesh in the absence of Shakib Al Hasan. They will, however, want Rahim to take up that spot. With the team in the middle of a prolonged losing streak, there's a lot of repair that needs to be done, and the best tonic in such times would be a win. But who stands up for them on the evening, only time will tell.

What they said:

The No.3 batting position has been playing on our minds for some time now. Sabbir Rahman had been doing well at that position, however in the past few games, the runs haven't really come but that is understandable, there'd be such phases for everyone - Mahmudullah, Bangladesh captain.

We are quite confident and we are going to go into the game with a positive mindset. We have just lost one game. It is not a big deal. Of course, we will learn from our mistakes. It is just a part and parcel of our work - Shikhar Dhawan, India's vice-captain.

Teams (from):

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant.

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Abu Jayed, Taskin Ahmed, Imrul Kayes, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider Rony, Liton Das.

© Cricbuzz

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