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| March 17, 2007 | Saturday | Safar 27, 1428 |
Unpredictable Bangladesh could pose problems for India
PORT-OF-SPAIN (Trinidad), March 16: India are determined to avoid a Kiwi headache when they clash with Bangladesh in their opening Group ‘B’ World Cup match at the Queen's Park Oval here on Saturday.
New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming conceded that Bangladesh had given them a ‘great, big headache’ after his team's surprise two-wicket defeat in a warm-up game at Bridgetown last week.
Following their shock victory, Bangladesh have emerged serious challengers to the sport's big teams and neither India nor Sri Lanka can now afford to take Habibul Bashar’s side lightly.
India may have won 13 of their 14 one-dayers against Bangladesh, but skipper Rahul Dravid has already said he expects each member of his team to be ‘switched on’ for the crucial opening game.
Bangladesh's lone victory over India came at Dhaka in 2004.
“I expect the team to put up a very professional performance, irrespective of who we play against. We respect Bangladesh and we have seen what they have done against New Zealand,” he said.
Batting holds the key to India's fortunes, with Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid and Yuvraj Singh all capable of demolishing any attack on any surface.
Hard-hitting opener Virender Sehwag may not have got a big score in recent matches, but Dravid said India had four batsmen – Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Tendulkar and Sehwag – who had been opening the innings.
“If one or two guys are not doing well, then it is up to others to make up for it,” he said.
Things have so far gone well for Bangladesh, who beat New Zealand and Scotland in practice matches. They need to beat either India or Sri Lanka to boost chances of making it to the next Super Eight stage.
First-timers Bermuda, the fourth side in the group, suffered a crushing 243-run defeat in their opening game against Sri Lanka here on Thursday.
Bangladesh's batting clicked in both the warm-up matches, with Habibul, Javed Omar, Tamim Iqbal and Saqibul Hasan all contributing to their team's wins.
Fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza and left-arm spinners Mohammad Rafique and Abdur Razzak are also in form, having played key roles in the practice games.
“We had a wonderful 2006 when we beat a few teams,” Bangladesh captain Habibul said, referring to his side's eight wins in a row – six against Zimbabwe and two against Scotland.
Teams (from):
INDIA: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel.
BANGLADESH: Habibul Bashar (captain), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Baisya, Syed Rasel, Rajin Saleh, Javed Omar.Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Steve Davis (Australia).
TV umpire: Ian Howell (South Africa).
Reserve umpire: Daryl Harper (Australia).
Match referee: Alan Hurst (Australia).—AFP
Match starts at 6:30pm
Expected weather: High of 31 Centigrade (88 Fahrenheit); chance of afternoon showers.
Pitch: Easy-paced, bounce variable.
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