Apart from their one-day international rankings there is not much at the moment that differentiates Bangladesh and India performance wise as the neighbouring countries face each other for their opening match in the 12th Asia Cup today.
In fact it won’t be wrong to say that after a terrible month Bangladesh should look forward to the match against India with victory in their sights. They will be playing an Indian team that will be led by a young captain along with a host of new faces. India are coming in to the match having lost six of their last eight matches while the hosts suffered defeats, one after another, against Sri Lankans recently and the morale of the team has also not been helped by off-field distractions. However the home side will miss the service of two of their most important players, Shakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, and it will prove their strength in depth if they can beat India today.
The wicket in Fatullah on most occasions has proved to be a batting paradise and though there are big names in the Indian side, Bangladesh should not be too worried about chasing a big total. The last match Bangladesh played at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium was against New Zealand which they won to complete a series sweep by chasing over 300 runs and given India’s zero experience at the ground, the home side should feel upbeat which they haven’t been feeling lately. Moreover, the last time both sides met was two years ago in Asia Cup in Mirpur which the Tigers won by chasing 290 runs to dump India out of the tournament.
Shamsur Rahman, who made 96 against New Zealand at the same ground last time, will carry the baton at the top while the return of Imrul Kayes, who has been in excellent form off-late, is also a big boost to the side as Anamul Haque had a quiet time with the bat against Sri Lanka. However, until yesterday it was not sure whether Mushfiqur Rahim will be keeping wickets, which also keeps Anamul in the hunt of a place in the playing XI.
With Mominul Haque and Mushfiq at three and four, Naeem Islam will come in at five followed by Nasir Hossain. Though Abdur Razzak is back from injury, left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny, who enjoyed an impressive debut series against Sri Lanka, might still be playing in Shakib’s absence.
All-rounder Ziaur Rahman who replaced Mahmudullah has a very slim chance of making it in the XI as the Tigers should opt for off-spinner Sohag Gazi given his track record in Fatullah while Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Rubel Hossain will be sharing the new ball up front. Mashrafe has now played in 50 Bangladesh wins in which he has averaged 18.84 with the ball, but in the three previous wins against India, his performance has been better, averaging 14.75 per wicket.
Meanwhile, the Indian camp will be led by Virat Kohli and this is the first time the stand out batsman will be captain in a major tournament. Often called as India’s future captain, it will be a big test for Kohli in the absence of their captain cool Dhoni, as the team also contains many new faces. The batting of the visitors will rely heavily on Shekhar Dhawan, Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma. Hard-hitting batsman Stuart Binny will be the one to watch if he gets a nod in the game today while fast bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami Ahmed, the future of Indian bowling, will also be out to prove their capability in these conditions.
Both sides will be hoping to mark their appearance with a win while new challenges in front of both captains only guarantees a cracking game for cricket lovers.
Probable XI India Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (capt), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane/Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron
Bangladesh Shamsur Rahman, Imrul Kayes/Anamul Haque (wk), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Ziaur Rahman/Arafat Sunny, Sohag Gazi, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain
Form guide (last five matches, most recent first) Bangladesh LLLWW India LLTLL