India wary of buoyant BD in ODI battle

Published June 18, 2015
Indian captain M.S. Dhoni (L) plays football with his team-mates Virat Kohli (C) and Shikhar Dhawan during a practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. — AFP
Indian captain M.S. Dhoni (L) plays football with his team-mates Virat Kohli (C) and Shikhar Dhawan during a practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. — AFP

DHAKA: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Indian side expect a close contest when they clash with fast-improving Bangladesh in a three-match one-day series starting in Dhaka on Thursday.

Bangladesh may have lagged behind in five-day Tests but they have enjoyed considerable success in limited-overs cricket, having stunned England to make the World Cup quarter-finals in March before trouncing Pakistan 3-0 at home a month later.

India have lost only three of 29 One-day Internationals against Bangladesh, but senior batsman Suresh Raina refused to take victory for granted in the upcoming series.

Raina, who led an under-strength Indian side to a 2-0 win over Bangladesh last year, said his team had begun taking Bangladesh more seriously following their recent success.

“As you can see we are fielding our best team despite the hectic schedule, “he said. “It shows how much importance we give to this series because it is not easy to beat Bangladesh now.”

Raina was happy that unlike the one-off Test last week, when more than nine sessions were lost due to rain, the ODI series has reserve days for all three games at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

If a match is abandoned or cannot be completed on the first day, play will resume on the following day from the point where it left off.

“It’s a good thing, but it means we have to plan for play to split on two days,” said Raina. “The rain is not in our hands.”

A series win — or even a narrow 1-2 loss — would help Bangladesh leapfrog the West Indies into seventh place in the world rankings, boosting the country’s chances of reaching the 2017 Champions Trophy.

Hosts England, plus the next seven highest-ranked sides on Sept 30, 2015, qualify for the tournament.

Pace bowler Taskin Ahmed, who made his debut against India with a five-wicket haul last year, said the hosts were confident of doing well in the ODI series.

“Our team is strong, everyone is doing well,” he said. “If we can continue to be consistent, I hope something good will come out of it.”

Bangladesh have called up rookie left-arm pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman for the series after he impressed in his Twenty20 International debut against Pakistan in April.

Mustafizur will join skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, Ahmed and Rubel Hossain in the pace attack that has become Bangladesh’s new strength in limited-overs cricket.

The remaining two matches will be played in Dhaka, scheduled for June 21 and 24.

Teams (from):

BANGLADESH: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, Rony Talukdar, Mustafizur Rahman, Litton Das.

INDIA: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.