Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
I mentioned in my last preview that India and Sri Lanka play each other more often than Donald Trump stirs up controversy.
I tried to talk up the last India v Sri Lanka clash as a “high stakes” clash in this series, but received a reply on Twitter that said “stakes as high as a hollow tree”, which was funny, but true. The beautiful thing here is that if Bangladesh put two good performances in their remaining two games, we might see a non India v Sri Lanka final. It starts here against India, and the Tigers will be hoping for some revenge after being thrashed by India first up.
Bangladesh v India in T20Is reminds me of a little brother that tries to beat his big brother – Bangladesh are yet to win a T20I against India in six attempts. Bangladesh have tried unsuccessfully, and now have the confidence of an amazing chase of 214 against Sri Lanka. However, India have been super impressive with the ball, restricting both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to below par scores in the last two games. Bangladesh will need to repeat their batting heroics from the previous game to have a sniff here.
Key to a Bangladesh win
Can they repeat their batting heroics against the best bowling attack so far in the tournament?
Captain Mahmudullah has spoken of finding Bangladesh’s identity in T20I cricket, which is great to see. Over the years, Bangladesh have struggled in the format, and will be hoping their incredible victory against Sri Lanka is the catalyst for a good run of results.
Bangladesh’s top order was superb by Sri Lanka, headlined by Mushfiqur Rahim’s amazing 72* off 35 balls. Tamim and Liton were awesome too, giving Bangladesh a rocket start, and the difference in their innings compared to the India game was incredible to see. Repeating it again will be key here.
Key to an India win
Predicted teams:
India are likely to stay with the same team that beat Sri Lanka
India XI: 1. Rohit Sharma (c), 2. Shikhar Dhawan, 3. KL Rahul, 4. Suresh Raina, 5. Manish Pandey, 6. Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7. Vijay Shankar, 8. Washington Sundar, 9. Yuzvendra Chahal, 10. Shardul Thakur, 11. Jaydev Unadkat
Stats & Facts:
- India have beaten Bangladesh in all six meetings between the two sides.
- If India win, they are through to the final.
- In the previous meeting between the sides in this tournament, Bangladesh played out 11.2 overs in dot balls.
Prediction:
