India suffered their first loss of the ongoing ICC 2019 World Cup at the hands of England on June 29. But they have no time to dwell on the disappointment as the Men in Blue will be back on the field to take on Bangladesh after a gap of just one day. Bangladesh, in the last five years, have been a side that no team can dare to take lightly.
What would motivate the Bangladesh team even more is the fact that they are still in the hunt for a semi-final spot and a victory against India would boost their chances. India, on the other hand, are one of the top sides in the tournament and despite losing their last match, remain among the favourites to win the tournament.
Let's identify the biggest factors that will decide the outcome of India's match against Bangladesh.
Wickets of Virat and Rohit
This goes without saying. India's batting is over-dependent on these two batsmen. If Kohli and Sharma fall cheaply, India will have a very tough time recovering. The middle-order hasn't done anything so far which would generate confidence in their abilities. Getting rid of these two and bringing the Indian middle order in to bat early would give a huge advantage to Bangladesh.
Threat of Shakib
Indian battling line up struggled against the Afghanistan spinners and they also didn't score enough off Fabian Allen, the West Indies left-arm spinner. Now, Shakib Al-Hasan is one of the best left-arm spinners in the world and has been in great form. He may be the one to trouble the Indian batsmen the most in middle overs and cause them problem. Considering that Dhoni got out to Rashid Khan and should have been stumped off Allen's bowling indicates some difficulty that he is having with the away-turning delivery. Hence, the contest between Shakib and Dhoni might be very interesting. Overall, Shakib may be the main threat with the ball for India.
Mustafizur vs Bumrah
This will be one of the most exciting battles. Mustafizur Rahman and Jasprit Bumrah are both very adept at the art of bowling in the death overs. While the Fizz relies on slower balls, Bumrah is the best exponent of yorkers. In the end, it may be the winner of the contest between the two who may decide which team wins the match. If it's a high-scoring contest, as is likely to be since the match is being played in the same stadium as the one between India and England, containing run-scoring in the death overs would be very important.
Threat of Indian spinners
Despite suffering a hammering from the English batsmen, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal remain big threats for any team. But Bangladesh have capable batsmen like Shakib, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah to counter them. How well these seniors are able to counteract the Indian spinners may be the point on which this match is decided. If KulCha establish their dominance, the Bangladeshi innings would stagnate and they may not get a big enough score. The battle between the trio of Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah against Indian duo of Kuldeep and Chahal will be a battle to savour.
