Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will have to recover quickly when they face an unpredictable Bangladesh in the 2nd match of the Nidahas Trophy Twenty20 tri-series in Colombo on Thursday. Sri Lanka gave a superlative performance in the opening match of the tri-series to outclass India in all departments and win the match by five wickets. By doing so, the Lankan side halted the Indian side's seven-match winning streak against Sri Lanka in T20Is. The home team's commanding victory over India has brought the interest back in the series as India were considered favourites going in the series.
India, defending a competitive 174 for five, were let down by the bowling department as Kusal Perera, who scored 66 off 37 balls, did not spare the bowlers and hit boundaries at will. Yuzvendra Chahal, the only frontline spinner in the team was also not spared.
Captain Rohit Sharma, however, backed the young guns to deliver against Bangladesh.
"Our bowlers tried everything they could, but sometimes it doesn't come off the way you want it to. I felt we have enough experience in our bowling line-ups. Yes, they are new in the scene, but they've put in performances. I had a lot of confidence going into the game," Rohit said.
India managed to recover from a bad start and post a par score, as put by Rohit, who fell cheaply alongside Suresh Raina to leave the team at nine for two.
How Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan start will always be important for India's chances but against Bangladesh, they would like to score more in the death overs than they did against Sri Lanka.
Rohit is not expected to make many changes in the eleven but Axar Patel, who is the most experienced spinner in the squad, might get to bowl alongside Chahal.
The talented KL Rahul too sat out of the first game but as the opening combination is settled, it remains to be seen if he gets to bat in the middle-order.
Washington Sundar was the pick of the bowlers against Sri Lanka, striking twice at an acceptable economy rate of seven runs per over.
In the absence of the rested Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the likes of Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat need to up their game in the unforgiving death overs. Thakur leaked as many as 27 runs in his first over against Sri Lanka but bounced back well to concede only three in his next attempt.
Facing Bangladesh in the shortest format has always been challenging for India and it will be no different tomorrow.
Teams (from):
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-capt), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Rishabh Pant.
Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Hider, Abu Jayed, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan, Liton Das.
The match starts at 7 pm IST.
(With PTI inputs)
- India lost to Sri Lanka by five wickets in the first match of the series
- Captain Rohit backed the young guns to deliver against Bangladesh
- Facing Bangladesh in T20Is has always been challenging for India
