It may not be the most sought after rivalry in the Cricketing fraternity, but the Bangladesh National Cricket Team is definitely a force to reckon with if we go by their recent performances. A lot of India- Bangladesh clashes have gone down-to-the-wire and today’s clash, the 2nd of the 3 ODI’s in the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka has all the ingredients of an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
Bangladesh National Cricket Team on a high
India’s performance left a lot to be desired in the 1st ODI, as the star-studded batting line-up, comprising of Rohit, Dhawan and Virat couldn’t do justice to their name and fames the team folded-up for a mere 186 in the 42nd over. K L Rahul’s gritty 73 of 70 balls was the only exception as former captain and all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hassan dealt the death blow to with a 5-fer. Indian bowlers however bowled out of their skin and nearly made a match of it but a regulation catch put down by the stand-in keeper K L Rahul coupled with unbelievable stroke play by tail-ender Mehdi Hassan Miraj saw Bangladesh National Cricket Team, home.
Team India aiming for the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup
Team India is under considerable pressure after their recent lacklustre performance in the T20I World Cup followed by the loss in the 1st ODI as they have been failing to deliver as a unit consistently in the recent encounters, especially when the ICC ODI World Cup on home turf is just 10 months away. Team India’s quest for the right opening pair apart from the quest for effective death bowling options have led Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid to try out quite a few options, but none of them have tasted consistency or success. It has been one of the sole reason for India’s dismal performance in the shorter format of the games as they struggle to find replacements for the injured Jasprit Bumrah and Sir Jadeja.