Two of the hosts will clash for preliminary bragging rights at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday as the first game of the 2011 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup gets under way! Subcontinental behemoth India and rising tiger Bangladesh will lock horns, with history lurking in the vicinity, seeking to keep fresh memories of the last time these two met in the World Cup. Or at least Bangladesh will hope to rekindle such memories, whereas India will seek staunchly to ignore that sordid chapter of their cricketing history.
The Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, with a capacity to seat 25,000, is famous for its drainage facilities. The last two games the two teams played at this venue resulted in a 6-wicket win for India each time. It is reputed to have a flat and slow wicket, and with the weather forecast being sunny, the drainage will not seem to be called upon to clear any water-clogging, though perhaps if it rains runs...
India
The 4th spot in the Indian line-up seems to be gravitating towards Virat Kohli, who rang in another sturdy performance on Wednesday. Although, in that match, Yuvraj Singh did not get a chance to clear the ambivalence surrounding his batting and Suresh Raina partly demolished the Kiwi attack, statements from Dhoni have indicated that it will be Raina who will need to sit out. With Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag manning the top, and Gambhir to follow soon after, the Bangladeshis will have their work cut out.
India's two outings in the warm-ups brought out the abundance in the Indian spin coffers. While Harbhajan Singh, with his experience, is an ensconced entity in the bowling department, Ravichandran Ashwin has been making heads and bats turn with his mysterious variations and deathly lines. As much as Piyush Chawla must surely have struck a chord with the selectors, Ashwin, through no fault of his, seems to be a better second fiddle to Bhajji, as he can both attack and hold one end up. Zaheer will be welcomed back into the fold for this game to resume spearheading duties. S. Sreesanth, who has Praveen Kumar's skillful shoes to fill, was expensive against the Kiwi openers, while Munaf Patel went for eleven an over against the Aussies. With India tending towards playing two spinners, Ashish Nehra, who has been good so far with the new ball, will most likely get the nod for second seamer.
India will stride into this match glowing with the knowledge of having made very good use of the warm-up matches. While, in the game against Australia, they tested their ability to hold fast to a match no matter the match summary thus far, against the Black Caps, they gave vent to their repressed batting force. Their bowling stood out on both occasions, notwithstanding the absence of their bowling friend, father and confidante Zaheer.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh's fortunes depend greatly on opener Tamim Iqbal's mood and form. As seen in their warm-up against Pakistan, the middle order could not hold its own when Tamim departed early. Imrul Kayes, however, is an able calming foil for the mercurial Tamim. Junaid Siddique at one down is sitting on some ripe scores off late, and looked to be in similar nick on Tuesday. The failed experiment of Mushfiqur Rahim at no. 4 should give Mohammad Ashraful, who himself was not much of a success at no. 6, his rightful slot back. Shakib Al Hasan will be the most important batsman in the middle and look to hold together both the tottering ends of the team's line-up.
Pace bowlers Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain both are in good touch, if only that Hossain is slightly on the leakier side. Shakib, who is growing into a veritable Daniel Vettori for Bangladesh, as captain and lynchpin bowler, has showed good form so far, with wickets as well as economy. Abdur Razzak and and Suhrawadi Shuvo would have seen how effective spin can be in this tournament, and will seek to sharpen their fingers to try and trouble the likes of right-handed Sehwag and Kohli.
Bangladesh's fielding was a point of contention against Pakistan, as they dropped as many as four catches. The team's coach Jamie Siddons, disappointed, was thankful that this kind of thing had happened before the game on 19th. They will need to be at the top of their game, and higher, against a rampaging India.
Form guide:
India: (WW in the warm-ups) LLWW
February 13, 2011 - Defeated New Zealand by 117 runs
February 13, 2011 - Defeated Australia by 38 runs
January 23, 2011 - Lost to South Africa by 33 runs
January 21, 2011 - Lost to South Africa by 48 runs
January 18, 2011 - Defeated South Africa by 2 wickets
January 15, 2011 - Defeated South Africa by 1 run
February 13, 2011 - Defeated Australia by 38 runs
January 23, 2011 - Lost to South Africa by 33 runs
January 21, 2011 - Lost to South Africa by 48 runs
January 18, 2011 - Defeated South Africa by 2 wickets
January 15, 2011 - Defeated South Africa by 1 run
India did well in South Africa and, at the MA Chidambaram ground, they touched up their tenacity with an invigorating batting display against the Kiwis. They are looking solid contenders for the World Cup by the candid admission of one Ross Taylor, who suffered at their hands first-hand!
Bangladesh: (LW in the warm-ups) WWWL
February 16, 2011 - Lost to Pakistan by 89 runs
February 13, 2011 - Defeated Canada by 9 wickets
December 12, 2010 - Defeated Zimbabwe by 6 wickets
December 6, 2010 - Defeated Zimbabwe by 65 runs
December 3, 2010 - Defeated Zimbabwe by 6 wickets
December 1, 2010 - Lost to Zimbabwe by 9 runs
February 16, 2011 - Lost to Pakistan by 89 runs
February 13, 2011 - Defeated Canada by 9 wickets
December 12, 2010 - Defeated Zimbabwe by 6 wickets
December 6, 2010 - Defeated Zimbabwe by 65 runs
December 3, 2010 - Defeated Zimbabwe by 6 wickets
December 1, 2010 - Lost to Zimbabwe by 9 runs
Bangladesh's victorious stats were better viewed with a pinch of salt, having been cumulated around home wins against minnow Zimbabwe and one of the weaker New Zealand sides. While their left-arm spin attack can pose a threat at Mirpur, they still lean too heavily on Tamim, at the top, and on Shakib, with both bat and ball.
Likely teams:
India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan.
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Abdur Razzak.
Players to watch:
Knowing that his primary role in the Indian set-up is not that of a part-time bowler, Yuvraj Singh must be feeling the pangs of his hungry bat. With Raina waiting in the wings, Yuvi has got to step it up. Bangladesh is one of the weaker teams to have eluded his furious batting, as Yuvraj can boast only a single century and a modest average of 32 against them. He will seek to redeem himself and rectify these figures.
Tamim Iqbal has a thing for the Indian bowlers. When faced with India, his average rises to 32 and his strike rate becomes a monstrous 93. He seems to thrive on a lack of backlog, as his stats show a marked glint in the preliminary matches of any tournament. His recollections of the Queen's Park Oval encounter in 2007 will be one of the more memorable, as it was he who had got on top of Zaheer to wrench the match away from India's grasp at the very start. He will want muscle memory to kick in!
Prediction:
India can look to forget their untoward loss against their eastern neighbours when last they met in West Indies. For one, Bangladesh had won both their warm-ups then, against Scotland and New Zealand, and rode the wave of momentum when India came along to flounder in unfamiliar conditions. This time, though, India will feel hard-done if they, riding momentum of their own, lose to a Bangladesh with a negligible middle order and fragile top. You might expect India to be once bitten, twice high!
