ICC CWC\'19: India vs Bangladesh; determining the loopholes and core of the team

Mumbai: India were forced to end their unbeaten run after a defeat against England on Sunday. Something we almost saw in the clash against Afghanistan. The bruised Indian team are still a point away from cementing their place in the semi-finals and will look to beat Bangladesh today. The players are going to be playing after just a day’s rest, but come in with more knowledge of the pitch, having played there just two days ago.

Bangladesh on the other hand, have been strong where they have to through their three wins off seven matches. Though standing seventh on the points table, they have only played seven matches so far.

They are still strong contenders to knock England off the fourth position, and making it to the semis. A win today will put them right under England on fifth position. To add to advantage, Bangladesh played its last game seven days ago. The players have had much more rest than their opposition on Tuesday..

India

After displaying some excellent performances in the first few games of the tournament, the Indian batting took a huge hit with the loss of opener Shikhar Dhawan. The team’s batting has been struggling to open well in the games since then. With a slow start, India’s quick switching of the middle order has also been a problem.

Slow batting in the middle order nearly cost India its games against West Indies and Afghanistan. The issue was at its worst in India’s last match against England, when for a change, India were not batting first, but had to chase a 337 target. Losing opener Rahul on a duck and a middle order that couldn’t keep up with the required pace factored in and India lost its first game of teh tournament by 31 runs.

Former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has faced accusations from fans and experts of batting slow. Though Dhoni was key in India’s victory over Bangladesh in the warm up games, his performances with the bat haven’t been very appealing since. After a below average performance against Afghanistan,

Dhoni seemed to shut the critics with his perfomance against West Indies. His quick running and boundaries in the last few overs was key in India setting a 269 target for West Indies. He even managed to remain not out against England, scoring 42 in 31 balls, but it just wasn’t enough for the 338 target India were chasing.

India’s bowling line up features a wide arsenal of quality bowlers and based on the performances so far, the team likely has the best bowling side of the tournament. Indian bowlers were key in all their wins so far. Though main pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar seem to take more wickets, spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have slowed down batting sides at crucial points in the game.

An injury took out Bhuvneshwar Kumar, paving the way for Mohammad Shami in the playing XI, who has since been on fire, picking up 13 wickets in just 3 games, which include his match winning hat-trick against Afghanistan.

India’s bowlers however were a little too late in taking out the English openers in their last clash. Both openers had already crossed half centuries by the time Jason Roy was taken out. While subsequent wickets did slow down England’s game, the damage had already been done and a 300-plus target had been set.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh have been one of the four teams to dish out good performances but also losing a few matches. They struggled at times, but now compete with Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka for the fourth spot on the points table which will grant them a semi-final spot.

Like India, the Bangladesh team is also a mixture of young talent and seasoned veterans. All rounder Shakib Al Hassan, one of Bangladesh’s main threats,  has taken 10 wickets so far and has scored 476 runs in six matches. The only players beating Shakib for most runs are Australians David Warner and Aaron Finch, who have both played two matches more than Shakib.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal have also shown good consistent performances time and time again.

Bangladesh has defeated South Africa, West Indies and Afghanistan so far. Their only losses came against Australia, New Zealand, and an in-form England. However Bangladesh’s performance against Australia and New Zealand were impressive enough, and after India’s defeat to England, there will clearly be no favourites in their clash against India on Tuesday.

The team will look to not rely too much on key players like Shakib, Tamim and Mashrafe as you need an evenly balanced side to beat a team like India