The big picture – Hardik’s balance benefits India
Twice in the last two matches, India have relied on Suryakumar Yadav to hold their position. There is growing pressure on Shivam Dube to improve his spin, even if it is not entirely from within the team. And Saturday will probably be another tough test against a quality spin attack.
For a long time, Bangladesh have relied on their left-arm spinners to do the job on slow and low pitches. Now they have a varied attack, and two trump cards in Mustafizur Rahman and leg-spinner Rishad Hossain. Still, they will be the first to admit that the batsmen have not given their spinners enough leeway so far in the tournament.
The task could be even more difficult against India as they will have to face Jasprit Bumrah and the in-form Arshdeep Singh. India also have the advantage of Hardik Pandya being fully fit, giving them the flexibility they need to play either a third pacer or a third spinner in the form of Kuldeep Yadav. So the task is not easy for Bangladesh batsmen.
Beyond the encounter, this rivalry has always gained an extra edge in recent times. It all started with a controversial no-ball call in the 2015 World Cup, which angered the entire Bangladesh. Then came the Mustafizur-Dhoni incident. The drama continued till the T20 World Cup in Bengaluru in 2016 and reached its peak during the Nidahas Trophy in 2018.
Since then, each meeting has brought something new to the table, and even though the players may say they are untouched by the “noise”, passionate fans on both sides have ensured that this rivalry holds a lot of significance.
The situation will not be any different at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Saturday.
Form Guide
India WWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Bangladesh LWWLW
In the spotlight – Jadeja and Tanjid
To all ravindra jadeja He has bowled in only one match so far in this World Cup, three overs against Afghanistan – when he took his only wicket in the tournament so far – and has not been required to bowl at all in one of India’s four completed matches. And he has batted twice, scoring 0 and 7 in his two matches. While his place is under no threat, Jadeja will want to put in a complete performance in the final stages of the tournament.
Late last month, he hit an unbeaten 58 to help Bangladesh seal a 3-0 win over the USA. Tanjid Hassan He has reached double figures only twice in six innings, and has been dismissed for a duck in his two most recent innings. With Bangladesh’s top order crumbling, he has often been required to defend wickets in the death overs, reducing his chances of scoring big. Can he perform well against a gun attack?
Team News – Soumya Sarkar an option for Bangladesh
India have an optional session on Friday morning. There is no reason to change their combination, which includes three spinners. Mohammed Siraj is likely to remain on the bench.
India: 1 Rohit Sharma (captain), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.
Tanjid Hasan’s form is a concern, but Bangladesh’s only other batting option is Soumya Sarkar, whose form has also not been good.
Bangladesh: 1 Tanjid Hasan, 2 Liton Das (wicketkeeper), 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), 4 Tauheed Hridoy, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Tanjim Hasan, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Stats and interesting facts – Rohit vs Mustafizur in focus
- Rohit Sharma out nine times In 2024, the most runs will be scored by left-arm fast bowlers in all T20s. All his three dismissals in this T20 World Cup have come against this type of bowler. Bangladesh can try to exploit this weakness through Mustafizur, but Rohit A good record Against them: 122 runs in 72 balls in all T20 matches at a strike rate of 169.44, while he was dismissed thrice.
- Shakib one wicket away He needs just two more wickets from becoming the first player to take 50 wickets in T20 World Cups, becoming the second after Tim Southee. To reach 150 T20I wickets,
- Arshdeep Singh has already become India’s top 10 batsman despite playing just 10 matches in the T20 World Cup. Joint third highest wicket taker He finished second in the tournament behind R Ashwin and Jadeja and tied with Hardik, with 20 wickets at a strike rate of 10.8.
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He said, “I don’t think anyone talks much about Bumrah’s bowling. He knows what to do and what not to do.”
Indian all-rounder Axar Patel Revealed there is little discussion in the management about their key fast bowler
“Everyone is told that they should play with freedom. But they are trying to play according to their plans. Why is it not happening? As I said earlier, I personally don’t know this. But if we play like this then it becomes difficult for the bowlers to defend.”
Bangladesh Captain Nazmul Hussain Shanto They can’t understand why they are struggling in batting
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
