Despite India dominating the only Test match in the series against Bangladesh, India failed to register a victory. The men in blue were not to be blamed, but the rains played a spoilsport washing out most of the five-day game.
But the Indian team now hopes that weather will not be a factor in the three-match ODI series startsing on Thursday at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.
In coloured clothing, one can expect a better performance from Bangladesh, who not only showed their colours in the ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but also thrashed Pakistan in the home series recently. Add Zimbabwe to that thrashing list as well.
There are reasons for the Indian team to fear Bangladesh. They are a very strong side at home and with players such as Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, under the leadership of Mashrafe Mortaza, they are a dangerous side and are capable of beating India in the best of three ODI series.
No wonder, the Indian board has sent a strong team to Bangladesh that can defeat the hosts. Middle order batsman Suresh Raina feels India had a strong team for the one-off Test and now have the full ODI squad.
"You saw that after the IPL, the full Test team came and now the full ODI team has come," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Raina as saying.
"Bangladesh have done well in ODIs recently, and this shows how important a series this is for us. We have done well in ODIs recently and we are looking forward to it," he said.
The last time India met Bangladesh was during the quarter-finals of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, where the men in blue registered an emphatic win. Bangladesh had a fine run in the tournament until they faced India, hence they will be eying a revenge as well.
India will primarily have the same team for the ODI series, which played during the World Cup.
MS Dhoni, who flew in from India for the ODI series, will lead the side once again. Apart from Dhoni, Raina, Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhawal Kulkarni, Akshar Patel, Ambati Rayudu and Mohit Sharma are the other ODI specialists who will feature in coloured uniform for India.
With the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane in great form, India have the ammunitions to overpower Bangladesh and add to it the batting talent of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. These batsmen can instil fear amongst the opponents with their aggressive stroke play.
The Indian batsmen will be wary against Taskin Ahmed, who has been causing problems for team India of late. He also picked three crucial wickets in their last ODI encounter. Bangaldesh are a settled ODI side with several match winners, such as Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan.
Talking about Taskin, Raina said, "He bowled really well in the World Cup."
"They also have Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, who's batting really well, and Shakib Al Hasan. They have lots of youngsters and they did really well in the World Cup."
India are not going to take the hosts lightly as they have been in an ominous form and, with the vocal home crowd support, India have to be on their toes to avoid another Zimbabwe and Pakistan like defeat.
Teams
India: MS Dhoni (captain), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni.
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, Rony Talukdar, Mustafizur Rahman, Litton Das.
Complete Schedule
18 June - 1st ODI , India Vs Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Time – 3pm local time (2:30pm IST and 10am BST)
21 June – 2nd ODI , India Vs Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Time – 3pm local time (2:30pm IST and 10am BST)
24 June – 3rd ODI , India Vs Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Time – 3pm local time (2:30pm IST and 10am BST)
