Match Information
June 18, 2015
Venue: Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Start time: 14:30 hours, IST
After the solitary Test match between Bangladesh and India finished in a draw, purely down to the inclement weather that allowed only 184.2 overs of cricket to be played across 5 days, the two teams are set to battle it out in the 50-over format of the game, with the 3-match ODI series beginning at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur tomorrow.
This ODI series against Bangladesh is Team India’s first assignment since losing to Australia in the semifinals of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. The hosts, though, have already played a home series prior to this one, against Pakistan, who were bulldozed and whitewashed in the 3-match series by an exuberant Bangladeshi side.
The most recent meeting between these sides came in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, which India went onto win after Bangladesh started off well with the ball and had the Men in Blue in a major spot of bother.
Ahead of the 1st game in this upcoming bilateral series, we preview how both teams stack up against each other, and also take a look at Bangladesh’s chances of continuing from where they left off against Azhar Ali’s side.
Bangladesh
The Bangladeshi ODI side has a well-balanced look to it, and should feel confident of at least going toe-to-toe with the 2015 World Cup semifinalists.
Regardless of the nature of the playing surface, Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed are expected to play against India tomorrow, and the duo’s inclusion will significantly bolster the hosts’ bowling attack that lacked potency in the solitary Test match in Fatullah.
Add Mashrafe Mortaza, who is the captain of the one-day side, and Shakib Al Hasan to the aforementioned duo, and you have got a very good bowling unit capable of picking wickets and stopping the Indian batting lineup from running away with the proceedings.
In the batting department, the absence of Mahmudullah Riyad will not help his team’s cause, and means that someone like Tamim Iqbal, who has plenty of experience behind him, needs to shoulder extra responsibility at the top of the order.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib are dangerous ODI batsmen, who will look to attack the Indian spinners during the middle phase of the innings, when Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to operate. The likes of Soumya Sarkar, Nasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman will also hold the key to their side’s batting lineup that needs to come good if Team India are to be put under pressure.
From Bangladesh’s perspective, they need to believe in their own ability and be organized in their approach against India, who are a far better side than Pakistan. They got to be aggressive throughout the 100 overs, and force their illustrious opponents to think differently.
Team India’s bowling attack surprised everybody with the way it fared throughout the showpiece event in Australia, but still doesn’t have that convincing look to it. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav should be the three seam bowlers, who will be supported by the Ashwin-Jadeja duo; it will be surprising if Dhoni tinkers too much with the playing XI he persisted with during India’s World Cup campaign.
Form Guide: WWWLL (results in the last five matches, most recent first)
Strengths:
The hosts’ strength obviously lies with their bowling, which has a wonderful mix of pace bowlers and spinners – and will look to make it count against India’s strongest suit, their batting.
Bangladesh have no particular weaknesses, although their batting lineup cannot afford to capitulate and has to pose a challenge to the Indian bowling attack.
India
Like Bangladesh, the visitors too have a different ODI captain now, after MS Dhoni announced his retirement from the Test format midway during India’s tour of Australia at the fag end of last year.
While Team India are a pretty ordinary Test side currently, their form in the World Cup vindicated their quality as a one-day side that pummeled the likes of Pakistan and South Africa in the group stages of the competition.
Their batting lineup is one of the most feared in the world, with the Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan duo – in particular – holding their own in this format of the game.
In addition, the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina add muscle to India’s batting that has one of the game’s best finishers in Dhoni slotting himself at No.6 and the Ranchi right-hander rarely fails with the bat in the 50-over format.
As a bowling side, therefore, you are under extreme pressure to keep picking wickets and also keep the run-rate down, which cannot be easy against batsmen who play fearlessly.
Though the batting lineup looks formidable and will be of concern to the Bangladeshi attack, Team India do not possess one of the better bowling attacks in the world and that is an area which, depending on the way the home side bats, could have a profound impact in the end result of the game.
Ashwin has been bowling well lately and his good form was there to be seen in the Test match last week. But, if you take the Tamilnadu spinner out of the equation, Bhuvneshwar should feel a little rusty as a result of not playing enough in the recent past; Umesh can be erratic and often hemorrhages runs even when he is bowling well; Mohit bowled well during the world cup but he, like Bhuvneshwar, can be predictable in the way he bowls; Jadeja had a woeful Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 with the ball and could be inching to prove a point to the selectors, who axed him from the Indian Test setup after the recent poor displays.
Form Guide: LWWWW (results in the last five matches, most recent first)
Strengths:
Team India have a reliable opening pair in Rohit and Dhawan, who complement each other well, with the Mumbai batsman often playing sedately and Dhawan playing the more explosive role in the partnership. Both these batsmen did well for India at the World Cup and if they provide their side with a solid platform against Bangladesh, the visitors will be hard to beat.
Team India’s batting is so strong that their bowling frailties hardly matter. But if the Bangladeshi batsmen show application and inclination to get after the Indian bowlers, we could be in for a fascinating contest in this 3-match one-day series.
Team News
Bangladesh have a selection issue to address, as they need to replace Mahmudullah with one amongst the trio of Litton Das, Mominul Haque or Rony Talukdar.
Every member of Team India’s squad for the series against Bangladesh, is completely fit and, as aforementioned, India’s playing XI should not have many changes from the one that played Australia in the semifinals of the World Cup.
Weather and Pitch conditions
Bangladesh is experiencing monsoon at this time of the year, and was the reason for the amount of rains we had during the solitary Test in Fatullah. The forecast for tomorrow isn’t a positive one either, with heavy rains expected until 6 PM local time.
It is difficult to predict the nature of the Mirpur wicket, which saw heavy runs scored on it during the last series between Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, the last time India toured the country, there was swing and seam, and bowlers enjoyed the upper hand throughout.
Venue statistics
There have been 85 ODI games played at this venue where the side batting first has won 36 while the side batting second has won 48 games, with 1 game getting washed out.
Team India hold the record for highest team score – 370/4 – which they registered in the inaugural match of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Kohli scored a magnificent 183, which is the highest by an Indian batsman, against Pakistan to help India chase down 330 in the 2012 Asia cup; Stuart Binny, who is part of the ODI squad for this series, picked 6/4 with the ball the last time India toured Bangladesh, in a game that they went onto win by 47 runs (D/L method) after notching up a mere 105 while batting first.
About the author
Suhith Kumar is a freelance sports writer, who specializes in covering Team India, The Mumbai Indians, Manchester City FC and other big dogs of the English Premier League.
The Chennai Express 
Hi Mr. Suhith Kumar,
This story defies description! Congratulations.
Thank you, Peter. Your recognition is appreciated.