Fresh India face wounded Bangladesh in Super Four
DUBAI: Pakistan pummelled, India will look to up the ante against Bangladesh, who will be coming off a defeat against Afghanistan, in their opening Super Four encounter of the Asia Cup here Friday.
For India, the worry will be the team combination as Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the tournament owing to back spasms, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar might be rested after back-to-back games against Hong Kong and Pakistan.
The pull-outs of Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur further compounded India’s injury woes. Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed may come in place of Bhuvneshwar but it is still not clear as to who would be Pandya’s replacement. Ravindra Jadeja has come in for Axar while Siddarth Kaul has been flown in as reinforcement for Shardul, the BCCI confirmed on Thursday.
Deepak Chahar is being sent as the replacement player for Pandya but it is unlikely that he will be drafted straightaway into the playing XI. It is Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s batting form that could keep the team management worried. While the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been among the runs, Dhoni hasn’t been firing and it will be interesting if he is promoted up the batting order.
While India’s rivalry with Pakistan is historic, the one against Bangladesh has been a bitter one post the controversial 2015 World Cup quarter-final at Melbourne. Three years since, Bangladesh are a stronger side. Under the inspirational Mashrafe Mortaza and seasoned campaigners like Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyadh, the team has the potential to go all the way.
With two quality pacers in Mustafizur Rahaman and Rubel Hossain backed by the experience of Mortaza and Shakib on a slow deck, India could find run scoring difficult in the middle overs. The Bangladesh team and its media’s perception of India being the proverbial big bully adds a dash of excitement to the contests. Friday’s encounter won’t be any different as Bangladesh are forced to play back-to-back matches in Abu Dhabi (vs Afghanistan Thursday) and in Dubai (Friday).
This wasn’t the original schedule, but the BCCI had managed to arm twist the Asian Cricket Council in tweaking it, causing a lot of heartburn. “Even if we win against Afghanistan (on Thursday), we will be tagged as second in group and will have to travel to Dubai tomorrow after playing in Abu Dhabi today,’’ Mortaza had said on the eve of the Afghanistan game.
Meanwhile Pakistan will be aiming to put up a better batting show against Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi.