By IANS,
Dhaka : After their massive victory over Pakistan, the Indian team should have it easy against Bangladesh in their last league game in the tri-series here Thursday.
For the Indians the match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur should be a good practice for Saturday’s final. In the unlikely event of a big Bangladesh victory, Pakistan could be in danger of missing the final, the hosts joining the Indians by virtue of better quotient.
Any doubts of India taking the match lightly were dispelled by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who indicated that his side would take the match seriously.
“We got to win every match. In fact, it is not about winning and losing, it is all about going out there and playing to your potential,” Dhoni said.
“Everybody wants to win. It was a good game of cricket against Pakistan yesterday. Hopefully rain will not interfere tomorrow,” Dhoni said.
It is to be seen if the team management tries out rookies Manpreet Gony and Pragyan Ojha. It should be an ideal situation for fast bowler Gony and left-arm spinner Ojha to showcase their talent.
Though there is widespread speculation that the Indians might give their bench an opportunity, resting some seniors, going by Dhoni’s, intent no large-scale changes are likely.
The only problem for the Indian captain is the ball, which is difficult for the batsmen to sight after 20 overs.
“They have used black soil on the track and the ball gets scuffed and discoloured after 20 overs. It is really difficult to sight the ball,” he said.
But there are problems aplenty for Bangladesh’s young captain Mohammed Ashraful. His team was outplayed by Pakistan in the series opener and if they have to do well against India they will have to come up with something extraordinary.
Realistically, they have hardly any chance against India, but the Bangladesh captain is drawing inspiration from their historic victory at the last World Cup.
“It is quite possible. We have beaten India twice in the recent past. If we apply ourselves we have a chance,” Ashraful said.
Asked if he has any plans to stop the explosive opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, Ashraful said: “We have strategies for each and every player, not only their in-form openers.
“It is important to bowl in the right areas and we should raise out fielding too. it is also be difficult for the batsmen to go for shots.
“We should not bowl like we did against Pakistan and bowling is the key for tomorrow’s match. We are working to iron out our mistakes.”
The two squads:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Manpreet Gony, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha.
Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful (captain), Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Alok Kapali, Dolar Mahmud, Farhad Reza, Mahmudullah, Mehrab Hossain (jnr), Mushfiqur Rahim, Nazimuddin, Raqibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal
t