ICC T20 World Cup 2022, IND vs BAN: Can Indian batters get their act right against the Bangladeshis?
By Team Newsable | First Published Nov 2, 2022, 7:00 AM ISTIndia is set to take on Bangladesh in the Super 12 of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Adelaide on Wednesday. The Indian batters would be desperate to fire, as the Bangladeshis aim to cause an upset.
Young Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant's flair and audacity at the top might be in demand. However, India could persist with an out-of-form wicketkeeper-opener, KL Rahul, when it takes on a relatively weaker Bangladesh in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday. Matches against Bangladesh across formats are always like a proverbial banana peel where slipping remains a possibility, but India would certainly start favourite in their penultimate Super 12 match. The rude jolt the famed Indian batting line-up got on the paciest of tracks in Perth would have left the coaching staff, especially head coach Rahul Dravid, pondering a few points.
The 22 runs in three matches with a flop show against big teams like Pakistan and South Africa has once again raised questions about Rahul's big-match temperament and technique against quality attacks. However, Rahul might continue as an opener as Dravid has unshakeable faith in the fellow Bengaluru player's ability.
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Bangladesh, not the most decorated Twenty20 (T20) side in this competition due to their mediocre bowling attack, might be the ideal opposition for Rahul to gain some form. The attack comprising Mustafizur Rahaman, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan Miraj, skipper Shakib al Hasan and Hasan Mahmud is decent but could be better in terms of standards.
Middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav and former-skipper-cum-top-order-batter Virat Kohli have already played brilliant knocks. At the same time, skipper-sum-opener Rohit Sharma looked good in his half-century against the Netherlands. However, Pant's exclusion from the playing XI is pretty baffling as he and Yadav bring that x-factor in the batting line-up.
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Veteran wicketkeeper-finisher Dinesh Karthik's back spasms issue might be a blessing in disguise for the Indian team. It may open up the opportunity for Pant's inclusion in the playing XI for the Bangladesh game. Bangladesh has four left-handers in their batting line-up, including skipper Shakib, openers Soumya Sarkar and Najmul Hossain Shanto and middle-order batter Afif Hossain Dhrubo and it will be interesting to see if India continues with veteran all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who was mauled by David Miller in the previous game, or play fellow all-rounder Axar Patel.
India's attack may not struggle much in dealing with Bangladesh as the troika of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Shami holds a distinct edge over the rival side's batting line-up. A few numbers corroborate how Bangladesh's batters have struggled in this tournament. Out of a couple of games it has won, one was a thriller against Zimbabwe while they played a close match against the Netherlands.
Despite facing minnows, Shakib's batters have struggled on bowler-friendly Australian pitches. After three encounters, opener Shanto is the only batter to have aggregated more than 100 runs at a strike rate of 125, which isn't commendable for an opener. The second-highest run-getter is Afif, the middle-order enforcer. A lot will depend on how Afif and Mosaddek Hossain bat towards the back end, but they will be under pressure against an Indian attack of this quality.
The team that opts to bowl first might make the best use of the famous Adelaide evening twilight when the ball swings a wee bit more than usual. With three potent swing bowlers, it will be a good idea if Rohit opts to bowl first and try to restrict Bangladesh to a low score.
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For Bangladesh, the sharp slump in their only world-class player, Shakib's form, is why they aren't considered a threat to quality teams. Shakib, who has had his run-ins with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) even during the ongoing WC, isn't in the best frame of mind, and the deterioration in his batting is challenging to fathom. He is still bowling some restrictive left-arm spin, but the bite is no longer there. Hence, it could just be meat and drink for the Indian batters during their duel with the Bangladesh captain.
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (wk & vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel and Deepak Hooda.
Bangladesh: Shakib al Hasan (c), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraj, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Litton Das (Wk), Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Yasir Ali, Nasum Hossain and Mustafizur Rahaman.
Match details
Date and day: November 2, 2022 (Wednesday)
Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Time: 1.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi & Sports Select (Also available in HD)
Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
(With inputs from PTI)
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