 Defending champions India will face up to the challenge of the potential giant-killers,
Bangladesh in the final game of Saturday at Trent Bridge. Bangladesh had
upset the West Indian calculations in the previous edition of the ICC World
T20 tournament, while they had also beaten India in the first round of the 2007
world cup; impeding both teams' progress to the second round!
Things have changed for India since that defeat, and they have come out much
stronger. However, there seems to something brewing within the Indian camp,
as was evident from a 'show of unity' by all the players who came out for the
press conference before the game. That apart, their win against Pakistan in
the warm-up games would have been a major morale-booster, especially given the
convincing margin by which it happened.
Whether Virender Sehwag will bat at the top of the order or will be
pushed down to the middle is anyone's guess. Rohit Sharma opened the
inning in Sehwag's absence - supposed shoulder strain - and has taken to the
role like a duck to water. With Gautam Gambhir showing signs of returning to
the form that had taken him to the top of the charts last year, and Suresh Raina
being the most consistent and an equally aggressive batsman in the line-up,
Dhoni may not have too many batting woes.
It is the bowling that may get hit due to the absence of Zaheer Khan
and the non-performance of R.P.Singh in the two friendly games. The good news
though is that Ishant Sharma has hit the straps very fast and that means
that if we add Irfan Pathan as an all-rounder, to the playing eleven, it requires
one other quick bowler to open the bowling attack. The choice between Praveen
Kumar and Ishant Sharma will depend on the choice of wickets.
Bangladesh has had an interesting run-up to the tournament; having beaten all
the minnow nations and running New Zealand - the same team that beat
India - and Australia close enough. They will heavily depend on their top class
all-rounder, Shakib-al-Hasan, who has proved on more occasions than one that
not picking him during the IPL auctions was the biggest mistake the teams could
have made. His 29-ball half-century against the Aussies was a case in point.
On the other hand, Bangladesh's other two experienced players in Mohammad
Ashraful and Maashrafe Mortaza are struggling; the former almost perennially,
and the latter ever since Rohit Sharma smashed him for all those runs in the
final over of the Deccan-Kolkata game. Rubel Hossain has already had a five-wicket
haul, but it is basically the aforementioned three who will have to come to
the party together for Bangladesh to harbour hopes of a win.
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