Daijiworld Media Network
Dhaka, Mar 28: After a heavy defeat at the hands of World Champions West Indies, Bangladesh are under pressure to get a win under their belt and open their account in the main tournament to keep their hopes alive. They are up against an Indian side that has put no foot wrong so far in the Super-10s. Can the hosts upset the table-toppers with an impressive show tonight? Hello and a warm welcome to the second game of today's Group 2 double-header.
Anamul: 'Every time we play, the crowd supports us. Thanks to the crowd. It has been disappointing for Bangladesh. We did not play well in the Asia Cup too. There was some pressure after the loss to Hong Kong. Today is a do or die match. We will have to win to stay in the tournament. India is a big team. This is a big opportunity for us. We have to play good cricket. I like Virat Kohli (when asked if he looks up to the Indian players).'
Dhawan: 'The guys rested well. We had a 4-day gap. We have played so much cricket. Rest is very important. Training is part and parcel of cricket. I am working on it. The wickets from the Asia cup has been low and slow. You will have to take your time to settle down. Sometimes you can go from ball one. It all depends on the batsman. We will be ready to post a big total, if we bat first against Bangladesh.'
Pitch report: 'There won't be much lateral movement, This is still a good pitch. It will remain the same. Dew is anticipated to come in. As expected, the team that won the toss, that is India, decided to bowl first. The batsmen can hit through the line. Just because this game is played under lights, the ball will do a bit early on. The spinners will have to give it a rip though', says Ravi Shastri
MS Dhoni and his boys would simply want to continue their good run, both with bat and ball. Rohit Sharma's fifty came at a right time for Team India while Kohli has been exceptional as usual. However, the rest of the batting line-up has hardly been tested and it will be interesting to see if Dhoni would want to bat first if he wins the toss, for his batters to get a hit. The spinners, led by Amit Mishra, had bowled very well and got the right breakthroughs. We've seen the dew influence the decision at the toss so far in the evening games. Is it going to be the same again today? We'll find out while the coin goes up in a short while.
India have won the toss and have opted to field
Rahim: 'We have to play well in all departments. We have a couple of changes. Mominul and Sabbir are not playing. Nasir and Shamsur are in. Hopefully, our batting unit will click today.'
Dhoni: 'We are looking to bowl first and we want the opposition to set a target so that we can chase it down. It is very important to take every game seriously. It's home conditions for Bangladesh and we are playing with the same squad.'
India have won the toss and have opted to field
Rahim: 'We have to play well in all departments. We have a couple of changes. Mominul and Sabbir are not playing. Nasir and Shamsur are in. Hopefully, our batting unit will click today.'
Dhoni: 'We are looking to bowl first and we want the opposition to set a target so that we can chase it down. It is very important to take every game seriously. It's home conditions for Bangladesh and we are playing with the same squad.'
India have won the toss and have opted to field
Teams:
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w/c), Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Ziaur Rahman, Sohag Gazi, Mashrafe Mortaza, Al-Amin Hossain
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami
Match Preview
India will look to seal a semi-final berth when they take on Bangladesh in Dhaka for a crucial Group 2 league game. Crucial not only for India, but also for Bangladesh, who were crushed by the West Indies in their opening game. It will not be easy for the hosts against a team that has looked like the side to beat in this tournament, but Mushfiqur Rahim's team has caused some major upsets in the past.
India:
Yes, they have looked invincible so far. India have walked over Pakistan and the West Indies with complete ease, thanks to their spinners, especially Amit Mishra. Pacers Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami have also looked good while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have looked the best among the batsmen.
Suresh Raina, making a comeback after being dropped from the Asia Cup, has found some of his old touch again and looks as dangerous as ever in the middle-order. So far so good. However, India will be worried about another comeback man, Yuvraj Singh, who has continued to struggle. A second ball duck against Pakistan followed a scratchy 10 off 19 balls against the West Indies but the southpaw looks set to retain his place, against Bangladesh at least.
India will hope that Yuvraj gets some runs soon because his role in the middle-order is key to the team's success going further into the tournament. Another concern could be MS Dhoni - the skipper had missed the Asia Cup because of an injury and has not yet got a chance to bat yet.
There have been lots going on in India with regards to the controversies in the IPL last year and the petitioner's lawyer even accused Dhoni of corrupt conduct by lying to the Mukul Mudgal probe committee. How much that affects the India captain in the middle Friday evening will remain to be seen.
Key Players:
Mishra and Kohli will once again be the most important players for India given their form as will Sharma, whose composed knock against the West Indies earned him rave reviews. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be also be expected to play key roles against the Bangladeshi batsmen.
Bangladesh:
Their passionate supporters were left gutted when Bangladesh went down tamely to West Indies in their opening game. The hosts were expected to put up a stiffer battle in their chase of 172 but were bundled out for a mere 98, riling up the packed stands. With each Bangladesh performance, there is either sheer frustration or complete joy - such has been the trend over the last two years.
Tamim Iqbal, Shakib-al-Hasan and Rahim, senior players in the side, will have to take up the responsibility of instilling some spirit into the team before their big clash against India. The hosts have some useful spinners in the side in conditions that have favoured the slower bowlers so far and Rahim will need them to step up and keep the power-packed Indian batting line-up in check.
Key Players:
Tamim will want to get going again and he has had a decent record against India, so that is one batsman Dhoni will need to watch out for. The other impact player for Bangladesh could be Shakib, who thrived in big-match situations and could make the difference for his team.
Ground Reality:
The Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, the venue of the clash has not been exactly a happy hunting ground for Bangladesh. Out of the six T20Is they have played there, they have won only two and lost four. Up against an in form India, the Tigers have their task certainly cut out.
Quotes:
As far as Yuvraj is concerned, it's a matter of just one innings. If one innings goes well, he will get back the confidence. He has been a fantastic player for India having won us a lot of T20 matches in the past including World Cups - Rohit Sharma, India batsman