🏏 Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #17: India vs Bangladesh🏏

Sports events are always full of surprises! To all the fans around the world, they provide flavor and excitement! Even though a Minnow attack once in a while won't interfere with the Monarch's rule (King Kohli), it does serve as a warning. Let us hope,no shocker for today!!

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🏏 Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #17: India vs Bangladesh🏏

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Three played, three won.

India have started their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign exactly how they would have wanted to, registering contrasting but convincing wins in their first three games against Australia, Afghanistan, and arch-rivals Pakistan.

Carrying on the tradition of hosts doing well in the 50-over World Cup, India is perched on top of the points table now.

The home team would love to stamp their authority on the tournament and make it four in a row when they renew their sub-continental rivalry with Bangladesh at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

All three departments have clicked for India so far. When the top-order failed in their opening game against Australia, senior pros Virat Kohli and KL Rahul combined for a record stand to bail India out and take them home.

In the high-voltage clash against Pakistan, when the neighbors were looking set for a 300-plus total, the bowlers rose to the occasion and produced a cumulative effort to derail the Pakistan innings.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, has a lot to think about. After a bright start against Afghanistan, the Tigers fell apart against their stronger opponents, England and New Zealand.

Leaking big runs with the ball is a big area of concern, and one that they will look to plug against the formidable Indian batting line-up.

A brief examination of the statistics for Indian batters reveals a compelling vulnerability to left-arm finger spin, a skill that the Bangladesh captain, the team's talisman, has mastered.

In ODIs since 2022, Indian batters have conceded 42 wickets to left-arm spinners, as opposed to 21 and 24 wickets to leg-spinners and off-spinners, respectively!!

Tag Credit: Sutapasima

Team Watch:

India

Given the small boundaries of Pune Stadium, including an extra spinner is ruled out and the Indian team is unlikely to make changes to the XI that played against Pakistan on October 14.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Bangladesh

Bangladesh XI is a big puzzle with the skipper's availability under a cloud. Out of form Tanzid Hasan could make way at the top to Mehidy Hasan Miraz who could be promoted as an opener. Tanzim Hasan Sakib may also get a look-in.

Probable XI: Litton Das, Tanzid Tamim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan* (c), Mushifiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam

Mushfiqur Rahim Vs Jasprit Bumrah
Wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is among the few Bangladeshis to have fired in the World Cup so far. The 36-year-old has a long experience playing against India and in India, and is a gritty customer. But the challenge will be daunting when India's pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah runs in to bowl to him. Bumrah has returned from a lengthy injury lay-off almost seamlessly, as if he never went away. He is firing on all cylinders and will surely employ one or more of his several tricks to try and see the back of the Bangladesh veteran.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz Vs Kuldeep Yadav
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the 25-year-old all-rounder from Bangladesh, has made a name for himself as a wily off-spinner, but he has fared better with the bat lately. The right-hander has 248 runs from his last seven games at an average of 41.33, and will be looking to add many more against India. But a rejuvenated Kuldeep Yadav could prove to be a thorn in Mehidy's flesh. Kuldeep has rediscovered his mojo with a tweak in technique and is a certified match-winner for India these days, especially with his wickets in the middle overs. His drift, dip and googly are all proving hard to read and it would be interesting to see how Mehidy, who himself is a smart exponent of spin, tackles it.

Mustafizur Rahman Vs Shubman Gill
This one could turn out to be a cracker of a contest. The skillful left-arm swing of Mustafizur Rahman against the broad willow of the dengue-recovered Shubman Gill. The 'Fizz', as he is known in cricket circles, takes on the lion's share of seam-up responsibility for Bangladesh as he is their go-to bowler with the new ball as well as at the death. He might have a hard time, though, against the talented Shubman, who has dazzled one and all with his free-flowing stroke play and sublime timing. How this duel plays out at the start of the Indian innings could set the tone for the rest of it.

Far from being a bilateral or dead rubber scenario, it is a live World Cup contest, and this India team is in red hot form, with the batters, led by Rohit Sharma, in marauding mood and the bowlers, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav operating with clockwork precision. All of which would point to India being favourites but don't rule out a strong Bangladesh performance.

Putting the Shakib factor aside, the Bangladesh side has discovered ways to unsettle even the strongest of Indian teams. Recent statistics reflect Bangladesh's rise in this fixture. Bangladesh have won three of their last four ODIs against India, with their victories occurring in bilateral matches and the recent Asia Cup fixture, which was a less significant occasion.

Go India Go.. 🥳

Please win today’s match..

Do not lose this match like how SA and ENG did against weaker teams..

Thanks for the tag, Madhuri.

"He's got amazing control. He's a very experienced bowler. He bowls very well with the new ball, knows how to deceive the batsman, and is also very economical. You have to play your best against all these bowlers," Virat Kohli said on the eve of the game. Shakib has 10 wickets in four games at an average of 18 and strike rate of 24 against India since 2022.

The Indian team have stated that they have no special strategy to counter Shakib, and whether he plays is inconsequential to them. "Honestly, I don't think any conversation that we have out here, we know he is a good player. He has done well for Bangladesh, he is a champion player, he is handy, he bats for the team, he bowls well, he bowls in the powerplay, he's a quality bowler and I think you got to give that to him. But for us really it doesn't really," India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey said on the eve of the game.

While pacers may enjoy some seam and swing early on, they will need to bowl precise lines and length to contain batters who may seek to exploit the track's batting inclination. Teams who win the toss typically choose to bowl, with a first-inning score of 288 on average.

The pitches India have played on so far have become better as the match has gone on and the Men in Blue didn't find much difficulty chasing in Delhi and Ahmedabad. The Chennai match against Australia saw Indian batters start poorly, but the middle-order rescue by Virat Kohli and KL Rahul meant that hurdle was also crossed. However, things might be different at the MCA Stadium in Pune where teams batting first have done well.

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune Pitch Report

The surface at the MCA Stadium is generally a good one and that shows in how the previous seven ODIs have panned out at the venue. Out of seven matches, in five of them, the first inning score was 300-plus, and only twice was it chased down. With the stadium being an open one, the ball flies in Pune, but because of the breeze, the pace bowlers get early assistance, especially in the evening. Hence, batting first is the way to go in Pune because if you get a good start, the batters can go really big and chasing isn't the easiest at this venue.

Thanks for the tag Madhu.

I like surprises and upset wins but, not today.

Cheers..

As far as the team combination is concerned, although having two spinners and four pace options is a good attack, considering the number of left-handers in the Bangladesh line-up, Team India might look to add off-spinner R Ashwin to the side. If they want to stay with the two spinners and four pacers (including Hardik Pandya), they might look to add Mohammed Shami in place of Shardul Thakur as he bowls upfront and might get assistance because of his upright seam. However, Ashwin replacing Shardul has a high probability of taking place.

The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is usually known for high-scoring pitches. The black soil present at this surface offers a pretty good bounce and helps in batting throughout the game.

Moreover, pacers can also use the bounce on the pitch to trouble the batters with body line bouncers regularly. There is little assistance on offer for the spinners on this track. Winning the toss and batting first would be an ideal choice at this surface.

Average 1st innings score:

The average first-innings score on this wicket is 305 runs.

Record of chasing teams:

The team batting second doesn’t enjoy good records here. They have a winning percentage of 45 on this track.

Players to watch---

Rohit Sharma is a right-handed batsman from India. He has hammered 217 runs in this tournament so far and can play a big role in this match as well.

Shubman Gill is a right-handed batsman from India. He added 16 runs in the last match and will be aiming to capitalize on the start in this game.

Mushfiqur Rahim is a right-handed batsman from Bangladesh. He has smashed 119 runs in this tournament so far and can play a vital role with the bat in this match once again.

Virat Kohli is a right-handed batsman from India. He has stacked 156 runs in this tournament so far and will be eyeing for a big score here in this one.