Bangladesh are back in their comfort zone but braced for a stiff challenge when they face two-time world champions India in the first one-day international of the three-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.
The Tigers, in an extraordinary turn of events, picked up form in the World Cup in February-March and carried the momentum by sending Pakistan packing 3-0 in the bilateral one-day series at home last month. Statistically, Bangladesh are nowhere near India, but statistics won’t matter on Thursday, nor will the results of an under-strength Indian team winning here emphatically last year and neither will any of their previous meetings.
Things have changed a lot in the past six months. It will be the rising maturity and growth in success of the Tigers in the 50-over format that will give opposition captain MS Dhoni, who will be leading a full-strength Indian side, a headache.
The match is important for Bangladesh from many aspects. A good result in the series will give the Tigers a strong chance of making it among the top eight before the cut-off date (September 30) and qualify for the 2017 Champions Trophy. It is crucial for Mashrafe bin Mortaza to remain calm-headed and push the team's standard higher as he has been doing with each game while a winning start will set the tempo of the series just about right.
For the hosts, Liton Kumar Das and Rony Talukdar are in the reckoning for the No 3 spot which has been left vacant after Mahmudullah was ruled out of the bilateral series with a fractured finger. The wicket-keeper cum top-order batsman Liton, however, after his compact performance in his Test debut where he made 44 batting at No 7, is most likely to make his one-day debut this time ahead of Talukdar and it won’t be surprising if he opens the batting alongside Tamim Iqbal with Soumya Sarkar pushed back to No 3.
Mushfiqur Rahim, all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman and Nasir Hossain should complete the strong batting order as Arafat Sunny will complement the three-man pace attack comprising Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Mashrafe.
The weather will also be a key factor in the monsoon game. Forecasts suggest heavy shower in the evening so for the captain winning the toss, chasing would be a good decision in the 3pm start as a curtailed match is on top of the cards.
However, Dhoni will be well aware that even a full game at the Tigers' backyard won’t be as easy as their 109-run quarter-final victory in Melbourne last March as Bangladesh have the capability of playing outstanding cricket and surprising their opponent frequently. It will take their big names to deliver if India want to avoid any unpleasant result and to accomplish the mission, the visitors might also play three seamers, but it will be up to their spinners to make the majority of the damage.
Players to watch:
Sabbir Rahman has simply been an outstanding finisher with the bat for Bangladesh during this whole rebuilding process in the last few months. His input will be crucial once again as he gives the stability in the batting order that holds the capability of scoring big and chasing big against any opponent.
Virat Kohli has had a very good IPL season with Royal Challengers Bangalore and he will be keen to score heavily at the ground where he registered his first World Cup hundred, that too against the same opponent in 2011. His rivalry with Tigers paceman Rubel Hossain will also be interesting to watch.
Bangladesh (probable): Tamim Iqbal, Liton Kumar (WK), Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe bin Mortaza (C), Arafat Sunny, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed
India (probable): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma