India have edge but not taking Bangladesh lightly

Shakib Al Hasan's side have already met expectations, having won against Netherlands and Zimbabwe, but now they face the challenge of Rohit and Co

One of the easiest ways to put opponents under pressure is to label them favourites. Shakib Al Hasan, veteran of many India-Bangladesh matches and an IPL icon, took no time to exploit that opportunity. “India are the favourites,” the Bangladesh captain said. “They have come here to win the World Cup. We are not favourites. We're not here to win the World Cup.” If you were thinking this is nothing but fast talk, this is a good time to recall the history of these teams.

India's Rohit Sharma, left, and Virat Kohli shake hands after the T20 World Cup (AP)

In 2019, Bangladesh were in with a chance to chase India’s 314 till the 45th over. In the 2015 quarter-final, there was so much hue and cry over a controversial no-ball to Rohit Sharma that Mustafa Kamal, the ICC president, criticised the umpiring and tendered his resignation. Two months later, Bangladesh won their first bilateral series against India, at home. Next year, MS Dhoni’s epic glove-off run-out of Mustafizur Rahman knocked Bangladesh out of the 2016 T20 World Cup. Over the years, this particular rivalry has grown into quite a feisty matchup.

Bangladesh last played India in 2019, and lost. Both sides have undergone quite a makeover from then. But Bangladesh know there is no better time to meet India. Their vulnerabilities have been plain to see against South Africa when Lungi Ngidi exploited the Perth pitch to lure them into his bounce. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya all got out to the pull while KL Rahul was nicked of his back-foot. The only semblance of normalcy was Suryakumar Yadav but without much support down the order, he couldn’t finish what he had started. Bangladesh know they stand a good chance if they blow through the top-order. Shakib sounded cautious about Yadav. "He’s been playing really well for India – probably their No. 1 batter, if you talk about records in last one year. They have got a few world-class players, which we need to look out for."

Bangladesh have already met expectations, having won against Netherlands and Zimbabwe, but now they face India and Pakistan. Much of their reputation has been built on upsetting these teams. One more win and Bangladesh can not only be party poopers but also throw their hat in the ring for the semi-finals. The bowling has been more impressive. Taskin Ahmed has taken eight wickets so far, including two Player-of-the-Match awards. Mustafizur Rahman, who made his debut against India, too is gaining form.

"The next target is to perform really well in the remaining two matches," said Shakib. "If we manage to win any of these games, it’ll be counted as an upset. And if we manage to do that, we will be pleased. And even if we don’t, there won’t be any regret. Both teams are better than us on paper. But if we play well and if it’s our day, then why not? In this World Cup, we have seen Ireland beat England and Zimbabwe defeat Pakistan."

India have a few bowling problems to address, considering they have conceded more than 90 runs in the last 10 overs to both Pakistan and South Africa. "Obviously Booms (Bumrah) was one of our guys who was penciled in to bowl two of those overs. It was really heartening for us to see the way young Arshdeep Singh has developed over the last few months.

"If you were to ask me in November when I first took over and I had a list of bowlers in my mind, sure, Arshdeep was there, but he was -- certainly he hadn't had that kind of IPL. He had had one good IPL. But the way he's come along after that, he's come and forced his way into the side and done really well. So that's a fantastically heartening thing to see.

Again, someone like Shami and Bhuvi bowled really well for us. So yeah, we have to keep developing and getting slightly better with our plans and our strategies around those games."

If there is no rain--the forecast is good so far--then this Adelaide pitch should produce a lot of runs. But Bangladesh would be no pushover. "I think this format and this World Cup has really shown us that honestly, you can't take any team lightly," said Dravid. "I think the fact that it is already such a short format, 20 overs is such a short format of the game. So it is already a shortened sort of rushed, noisy format, but it's very difficult to sometimes say who's a clear favourite in some of these games.

"On top of that, I think these conditions. I think these conditions have actually leveled the playing field to a large extent because the boundaries are certainly bigger, and some of those big hits which you sometimes expect in the subcontinent to just go for six and you just know that I'll be able to make up those runs later on, it's not happening that easily. People are getting out. I think it's really been a fantastic tournament from that perspective. Apart from the weather, I think it's been a terrific tournament in terms of just the nature of the games. No, we certainly don't take Bangladesh lightly. Our preparation, our planning will be as meticulous as it was against South Africa at Perth. No different."