For India to maintain their unbeaten streak during the World Cup, they must hope that their batting line up works together in perfect synchronization as well as boosting the confidence of this team for their second match of the super eights stage against Bangladesh Antigua come Saturday.
Even though India has a healthy record against Bangladesh with 8 wins and 1 loss in previous encounters, it is no secret that India will be looking at this match more cautiously. However, Bangladesh has struggled to cope with India’s dominance over cricket both on and off the field.
Undoubtedly, India are serious contenders for the T20 World Cup title having won their opening Super Eight game against Afghanistan impressively. The team is now hoping for some big performances after just one day before another match.
The pair of Kohli and Sharma have been getting starts but failing to convert them into substantial knocks with just 39 runs each from four innings. Another man who has been under scrutiny is Shivam Dube who was picked because he could hit sixes during middle or death overs. But IPL form deserted him after securing his ticket to the World Cup; he is yet to make an impact.
In this regard, Suryakumar Yadav’s match winning knock rather than Rayudu’s unbeaten thirty-one in the USA group-stage clash proved decisive. In case there is another failure by Rayudu tomorrow then Sanju Samson can come as alternative number five batsman.
When Hardik Pandya came out to bat on Friday night, India were reeling at 131/7 in 18 overs but with a few lusty blows he was able to take them past the psychological barrier of 150 runs mark.
India will most likely stick with their bowling combination which saw spinner Kuldeep Yadav pick up his first wicket of ICC world twenty20 championship yesterday.
The pitches offered enough support to spinners which forced India play three spinners at Kensington Oval. This combination is expected to persist, with Kuldeep retaining his spot in place of Mohammed Siraj.
“Playing three left-arm spinners, I feel there is an advantage. There are three left-arm spinners out of which we have two finger spinners and one wrist spinner,” After the Afghanistan game, said Axar Patel.
“The combination of the three of us is very good. We have a good team. We communicate well. Like whoever comes to bowl first, we communicate what is working and what is not. I think that is very important when you bowl as a unit,” He added.
The Indian cricket team will be more confident about winning the T20 2018 World Cup if they perform well against Bangladesh at Kensington Oval on Friday; however a tougher match awaits them against Australia on June 24th.
Bangladesh are now in a very precarious situation after being defeated by Australia and they must win their next match. This is because batting concerns have persisted all through the tournament and the absence of power-hitters in the side has been a big problem. The unfortunate truth is there is no immediate solution for this. Additionally, Bangladesh’s opening batsmen Litton Das and Tanzid Khan have compounded these problems with their disappointing displays on the field. This has increased pressure on the middle order to even post competitive totals.
“It’s very important for top order to get runs like we did today, that’s a big boost; bowlers hopefully will continue their form. Looking for good show against India in our next match”, Shanto stated after losing to Australia in Antigua on Friday.
Shanto scored 41 and Hridoy hit 40 as both showcased their skills but others struggled to make significant contributions. Moreover, Bangladesh faces an uphill task against Bumrah’s exceptional bowling ability. Bumrah has taken eight wickets at an astounding economy rate of just 3.46 runs per over thus far becoming a force to reckon with in this series.
While the fast attack led by Mustafizur Rahman has been reasonable, it needs helping out at its spin department. Hossain requires more help from his fellow tweakers if he wants to create an equal and effective bowling unit through adding depth breadth or width or whatever you prefer
