Looking Ahead : Bangladesh vs India - ODI Series

Looking Ahead : Bangladesh vs India - ODI Series

After the first leg of the tour i.e the Test Match series, which India comprehensively won, its time for the two teams to shed their whites and don their national colours as they clash against each other for the 3 match ODI series to be played in Chittagong and Dhaka. Both these teams, especially India have had a sudden dip in form in their ODI performances, and this series comes at no better time for the Men in Blue to correct the mistakes they have been making so far, and finish the indifferent year till date, on a high by bagging the ODI leg of the tour. For Bangladesh, its an area of competition, but will they live upto their expectations ? Cricketfundas.com gives its readers an exclusive preview to the three match ODI series between India and Bangladesh which starts on the 23rd.

India :-

Its time the Indians admit that they have been going through an indifferent form, as far as the ODIs are concerned, and 3 matches against Bangladesh are virtually a golden opportunity being gifted to them to correct their mistakes and round off the year on a good and positive note. It has been interesting to see that Virender Sehwag has had bad One-Day outings as opposed to his great Test form, so he will have some thinking to do, as the two low scoring innings in the Test Matches played earlier will be at the back of his mind. It will also be interesting to see as to who replaces the "discarded" VVS Laxman. Going by form, it all points towards Sridharan Sriram, but as expected, the team management may well throw a surprise or two by recalling Dinesh Mongia. Has India finally found someone to don the gloves in the shorter version - yet another question mark ! But, it looks almost certain that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be keeping wickets for India in these three matches, and it will be vital for him to make use of these chances, as Dinesh Karthik has looked impressive in the opportunities given to him so far. If anything, the bowling is something India will have to take note of. With Harbhajan Singh being"reported" for a suspect action, it will be interesting to see how he battles his psyche as the experience of Anil Kumble will be missing. But, one expects these bowlers to do well as they are on song, especially the two left armers - Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan. Complacency has always been the 12th man for Indian Cricket, and even if they are playing Bangladesh, the time has come when being professional rules over being complacent, simply because Bangladesh's "real" forte is One Day cricket, and on a given day or two, they may just run teams close. It will be important for India to maintain the intensity, something that has been lacking in the ODIs, and if they do it as they do against many other teams, they'll come out winners.

Bangladesh :-

As said before, this is the version that Bangladesh are more accustomed to and are more confident in. So, that by itself is some kind of a solace for the Tigers after the two crushing defeats in the Tests. And, their recent form speaks for itself when it comes to the ODIs, as theyve ran stronger teams like West Indies and New Zealand really close, but can they replicate it against India ?? Only time will tell. One of the main reasons, Bangladesh cricket has in its own way been static is the poor batting performances. But considering the recent form some individuals like Mohammad Ashraful and Manjural Islam Rana have shown, it will be interesting to see if they give their bowlers some runs to bowl at. One of the small things that Bangladesh have been doing well is fielding i.e. realizing the importance of saving runs, and one can expect a better show from them in the field from the Test Matches, where they were rugged to say the least. The Bangladeshi bowling attack has for sure been bolstered with the return and consistency of paceman Mashrafe bin Mortaza and his support bowler will most likely be Tapash Baisya. It will be extremely crucial for them to pick wickets early, and if they fail to do that, the batsmen they are bowling to are too good to make nutmegs out of them. Having said that, the experienced campaigners like Mohammad Rafique and Khaled Mahmud could help in guiding the youngsters make some effort and progress towards winning. It wont be easy for Bangladesh to pull off a win, but one feels that running India close by making them earn each and every run will be important, as a close shave for India might well end up being a small raise in the confidence levels of the Bangladeshis. Its all in their court, time to make the best use of such chances and who knows, come up with a rabbit out of the hat by beating India - although it remains a distant reality for the young Bangladeshis.

Competition is something we will be looking out for in this particular ODI series between the two teams, and there will be times in the matches, when Bangladesh will prove their existence as an international cricket team, but from a more positive Indian perspective, it will be extremely crucial for India to play the ball and not the bowler if they have to suceed towards their only 2nd ODI series win of the year.

Venkz

venkz86@gmail.com