Daijiworld Media Network
Dhaka, Jun 17: Hello and welcome to the second ODI between India and host team Bangladesh. Having been slammed from all quarters for having sent an 'A' side for the Bangladesh ODI series, the Indian selectors would be justified in being proud of themselves after the team's impressive performance in the opening ODI on Sunday. Asked to field first in extreme conditions, the Indians did well to restrict the hosts to 272, before knocking off the revised score without much fuss.
The confident Indian team will be looking to take an unassailable lead when they face Bangladesh in the second ODI. There is some added incentive for India as well, a 3-0 series whitewash will help them leapfrog Sri Lanka into the 2nd position in the ICC ODI rankings, and Suresh Raina will be eager to achieve that under his leadership.
Bangladesh won the toss and decided to field.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina(c), Ambati Rayudu, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Stuart Binny, Akshar Patel, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Mithun Ali, Mushfiqur Rahim(w/c), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Ziaur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain
Match Preview
India
It was a comfortable victory for the visitors on Sunday night. The bowling was disciplined, and although they ended up conceding far too many runs towards the end, the skipper would have been proud about performance in difficult conditions. They were backed up by some tight fielding, although the skipper himself had a mixed day, spilling a sitter before making it up by grabbing on to a stunner. Umesh Yadav was efficient with new ball while Mohit Sharma struggled under the heat. The spinners, despite leaking runs, were amongst the wickets.
Robin Uthappa continued from where he left in the Indian T20 league. Gone are the days of youthful brashness, the new version of the right-handed batsman has seen precision and finesse instead of raw power and aggression. Ajinkya Rahane, still struggling for a permanent spot in the ODI team, did his cause no harm with an attractive half-century. A rain-curtailed game meant that the rest of the batsmen did not get much of an opportunity to showcase their skills.
Bangladesh
Mushfiqur Rahim's comments about the Indian team came back to haunt him as the 'weakened' Indian team secured a convincing win in the first ODI. He will be more than worried about the lack of quality in the bowling department. Out of the three Indian wickets to fall on Sunday, two were due to poor calls from umpire Enamul Haque while Rahane slashed at a wide ball and was caught brilliantly at short third man.
Tamim Iqbal, back in the side for the first time this year after recovering from injury looked rusty, while the out-of-form Mominul Haque did little to suggest he should be batting in the top-order. Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan continued their recent good form, while Mahmuddullah and Nasir Hossain chipped in with cameos. While 272 looked like a good score, skipper Rahim admitted the failure of converting starts into bigger knocks resulted in the team falling at least 20 runs short.
Barring Shakib, the rest of the bowlers were disappointing. Abdur Razzak and Mashrafe Mortaza have been pale shadows of their past while Al-Amin Hossain, despite all the hype surrounding him, remains untested. The hosts will need to improve their bowling by leaps and bounds if they are to trouble even this Indian batting line-up.
Team News:
Mohit Sharma limped off mid-way through his fourth over and struggled every time he came to bowl later on. If he is rested, Vinay Kumar will be the most likely replacement. With a series to be won, India might not make any further changes to the winning team.
All-rounder Ziaur Rahman bats too low down the order and has hardly made an impact with the ball. With a must-win scenario confronting them, Bangladesh might well play an additional bowler in his place.
Weather:
Scattered thunderstorms are predicted during the 2nd ODI. Spells of heavy rain, just like the one that cut short the opening game, is expected.
Quotes:
Every international game will count. So we are not thinking about it [making a statement]. Whoever is here, they did really well in domestic cricket and that's why they are here - Ajinkya Rahane defends the team selection.