Rain and the outcome were the only consistent things in the first two-one day internationals between Bangladesh and India as performance from both the sides have been highly contrastive. India, under their captain for the seven-day tour, Suresh Raina, have already secured the three-match series and they will be eyeing a series sweep when they take on the Tigers, who are yet to register a win in ODIs in 2014, in the final game at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.
A horrible first-quarter of the year saw the Bangladesh Cricket Board restructure the coaching staff, but recent results can hardly be blamed on the new mentors - Chandika Hathurusingha and Heath Streak – as they just joined and this series is mainly a chance for them to assess things and make a plan for the future.
Team morale has hit rock-bottom and the players appeared shell-shocked at home conditions, as whatever they seem to be doing, they still come out second – may it be defending a big total of 300 odd or chasing a small target of around 100.
Even after India’s innings on Tuesday, many would have thought that finally Bangladesh will win their first ODI of this year riding on the back of Taskin Ahmed’s dream debut. The teenager used the conditions to perfection and rattled the Indian line-up to end up with a five-for, but the batsmen faltered while garnering 105 runs which eventually saw Tigers skipper Mushfiqur Rahim apologising to the nation for their joint-lowest ODI total of 58.
Going into today’s game, Mushfiq would want to end on a high note, but he too knows that will be very difficult given the current state of his side. Hathurusingha has probably seen enough of Tamim Iqbal and might give Shamsur Rahman a go. The series is out of reach and given the existing circumstances, it is a good opportunity for the coaches to tinker with the playing XI and weigh the available options they will be expected to work with.
India also have the luxury of giving their bench-warmers a game as the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Manoj Tiwary might finally get a game.
