Preview: T20 World Cup: India vs. Bangladesh

Sports Mole previews the 2024 T20 World Cup match between the West Indies and the United States, scheduled to be played at the Sir Vivian Richards on Saturday.

India will continue their bid to win a second T20 World Cup trophy when they face Bangladesh in Saturday’s Super Eight matchup at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Bangladesh need a win after beginning the Super Eight phase with a heavy defeat to Australia, while India already have two points on the board after beating Afghanistan on Thursday.

Match preview
© Imago

India are bidding to win their first ICC tournament since winning the Champions Trophy in England and Wales in 2013.

For a nation blessed with so much talent, it is perhaps surprising that they have not won the T20 World Cup since MS Dhoni’s side prevailed in the inaugural tournament in 2007.

Seventeen years later, Rohit Sharma’s side appear to be well set to go all the way after breezing through the group stage and winning their opening match in the Super Eight phase.

After beginning their campaign with a dominant over Ireland, the Men in Blue went on to beat their arch-rivals Pakistan and tournament co-hosts USA to seal their spot in the Super-Eight with a game to spare.

As it proved, their final group encounter against Canada was abandoned due to rain, giving them a little bit more time to prepare for the Super-Eight phase, where they are battling for a top-two spot in a group featuring Afghanistan, Bangladesh and 2021 T20 World Cup winners Australia.

They began the Super-Eight with a relatively comfortable win over Afghanistan, posting 181 from their 20 overs before bowling out their opponents for 134, and another win on Saturday will be enough to secure a semi-final place if Australia pick up two points in the group’s other match.

© Reuters

With that permutation in mind, Bangladesh will most likely need to beat India to keep their hopes alive of reaching the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the first time.

In fact, Bangladesh have only previously appeared in the semi-finals of a major ICC event on one occasion, reaching the last four of the 2017 Champions Trophy being losing to India by nine wickets at Edgbaston.

While a semi-final appearance will be the dream, Bangladesh may already view the World Cup as a success after they came through a tricky group to reach the Super Eight phase.

Bangladesh claimed victories against Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal to finish in second place and two points behind unbeaten group winners South Africa.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, they will given a harsh reality check in Thursday’s Super Eight clash, mustering 140 from their 20 overs before Australia quickly racked up 100 from 11.2 overs for just the loss of two wickets, ensuring they were well ahead of the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern total when the rain cut the game short.

The Tigers will be looking for a positive response against India, and they will need to produce a better performance than the one they managed in their 60-run defeat to the Men in Blue in a World Cup warm-up game earlier this month.

Team News
© Reuters

Suryakumar Yadav is India’s second-highest run-scorer at the World Cup after hitting his 19th half-century in T20 internationals in the win over Afghanistan.

Virat Kohli has experienced a disappointing tournament up until this put, having mustered 29 runs across his four innings, but he still possesses the quality to singlehandly lead his side over the line.

Jasprit Bumrah remains India’s most dangerous bowler after posting remarkable figures in Thursday’s match, taking three wickets for just the concession of seven runs.

Meanwhile, Sharma will have to decide whether to recall paceman Mohammed Siraj or stick with the left-arm wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav.

As for Bangladesh, Towhid Hridoy is currently his country’s leading run scorer at the tournament after accumulating 135 runs from his five innings.

The experienced Shakib Al Hasan has hit 100 runs in the competition, largely thanks to a 64 not out in the win over the Netherlands, but in addition to his batting efforts, the left-arm spinner will also have a role to play with the ball.

Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain has proven to be one of Bangladesh’s standout players at the World Cup after picking up nine wickets at an average of 13.88.

Seamer Tanzim Hasan Sakib has also taken nine wickets, and he will also be key if the Tigers are to get on top of India’s impressive batting lineup.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Tanvir Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib

Tournament so far

India
Group stage

Match One: India won by 8 wickets
Ireland – 96 (16)
India – 97/2 (12.2)

Match Two: India won by 6 runs
India – 119 (19)
Pakistan – 113/7 (20)

Match Three: India won by 7 wickets
USA – 110/8 (20)
India – 111/3 (18.2)

Match Four: No Result

Super Eight

Match Five: India won by 47 runs
India – 181/8 (20)
Afghanistan – 134 (20)

Bangladesh
Group stage

Match One: Bangladesh won by 2 wickets
Sri Lanka – 124/9 (20)
Bangladesh – 125/8 (19)

Match Two: Bangladesh lost by 2 wickets
South Africa – 113/6 (20)
Bangladesh – 109/7 (20)

Match Three – Bangladesh won by 25 runs
Bangladesh – 159/5 (20)
Netherlands – 134/8 (20)

Match Four: Bangladesh won by 21 runs
Bangladesh – 106 (19.3)
Nepal – 85 (19.2)

Super Eight

Match Five: Bangladesh lost by 28 runs (DLS)
Bangladesh – 140/8 (20)
Australia – 100/2 (11.2)

We say: India to win
Bangladesh have tended to fare well with the ball at the tournament, but they have struggled to match those standards when it’s their turn to bat, and that potential weakness could be exposed against India’s elite bowling lineup, which is why we think the Men in Blue will emerge victorious on Saturday.

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