India and Bangladesh lock horns in Adelaide with crucial points on the line

After a slick start to the tournament, beating Pakistan in a high-octane thriller and dominating Netherlands emphatically, Team India’s T20 World Cup juggernaut hit an unexpected snag as they bowed down to South Africa in a low-scoring thriller at Perth. However, in a shot at redemption not so far away, they will be taking the yard against their continental rivals, Bangladesh in the penultimate game of the Group Stages.

India will be fretful about their opening stand where they would be eager to get the chinks ironed out as early as they can with the bigger games of the tournament lurking ahead. Despite a sloppy start to the innings, the middle-order, however, has seemed rock-solid in their disposition and continues to deliver the required numbers under the pump.

India will be pinning their hopes on an in-form Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli with the bat.

Bangladesh will be brimming with confidence after they surged past Zimbabwe in a chaotic last-over finish with their bowlers pulling off a phenomenal job, defending a modest 150 in their preceding encounter.

Despite a sloppy show with the bat in their hands, they have shown decent control with the ball except for the South Africa contest. However, things are going to be different when they meet the mighty Indians, hoping to pull off an upset, especially considering the intimidating form that the Indian bowlers are in at the moment.

Venue Watch:

Adelaide Oval is known for its bowling friendly nature where it produces some early drift and bounce. The average score batting first is 155 while the average score chasing is 144. The teams batting first have won 3 games while the teams batting second have won 4 [over the last x years in the T20I format]. The highest score recorded at Adelaide is 233 by Australia against Sri Lanka and it came batting first.

Key Player Battles:

Virat Kohli versus Taskin Ahmed: Despite a rare flop against South Africa, Virat Kohli has been in phenomenal form in the ongoing T20 World Cup and will be India’s ace in the pack as they take on their neighbours. Taskin Ahmed has been excellent with the ball, claiming 8 wickets in the tournament so far. In a battle of those 144 runs and the crucial wickets, it would be interesting to see who can hold their nerve and steer to the finish line.

Suryakumar Yadav versus Shakib-Al-Hasan: Suryakumar Yadav has been phenomenal against the pacers and despite not being pitted against the turners much, he has shown some strong show of mastery bringing the sweep shot effectively into play. Shakib is an experienced campaigner and is known for his trickery, with the ball. He can also mix up his pace very effectively which will be a perfect match for SKY shuffling himself frequently inside the crease.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar versus Afif Hossain: Bhuvneshwar Kumar has made excellent use of the drift on the surface and tormented the batters in the first 6 overs, keeping things tight and forcing them to play unwanted strokes. He would be India’s bowling trump card in the upcoming contest against Bangladesh. Afif Hossain has been the best batter for the Tigers so far and would be an important moniker to lead the way for India’s counterparts, bringing in his tenacious stroke play to the fore.

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 11

India: 10

Bangladesh: 1

Match Details:

India vs Bangladesh

Adelaide Oval

2nd November 2022

1:30 PM

Squads:

India:

Rohit Sharma (captain), Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Shami

Bangladesh:

Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Afif Hossain, Mossadek Hossain, Litton Das, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain, Nasum Ahmed.