Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Mar 23 : A sensational fifty against Pakistan, and the whole of India can't stop raving about Virat Kohli. The world can't stop raving about Virat Kohli. For someone who has already achieved so much at such a young age, it's stupendous how his stature keeps growing every time he walks out to bat. And here's something which is very worrying from a Bangladeshi point of view - he has scored 1475 runs at Chinnaswamy Stadium - the most runs by a Indian player at any ground in T20Is. But does this mean India are sorted with the bat? Far from it.

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w/c), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Shuvagata Hom, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

Dhoni: "We were looking to bowl first also. It looks a bit tacky and dew might come into play, but this is one surface that will remain good throughout. If there is moisture, it may turn. The team is feeling good. India-Pakistan is a big game, it was important how we prepare and the team is in good spirits. We are playing the same side."

Mortaza: "We like to bowl first. We have seen that the ball comes on nicely later on. It is a good ground for chasing. We had a disappointing last game, but hopefully we can change things around. Just the one change, Tamim comes in plce of Saqlain Sajib."

It's funny how one win against Pakistan changes the landscape. The mood is completely different and upbeat and India are the tournament favourites once more. Now they are up against a team which has been struck by an outbreak of misfortune, and has failed to cope with the big stage. Bangladesh have been shaken. Suspensions to Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny have drawn out unusually sharp reactions from their management and with two defeats back-to-back, they are barely hanging alive in the tournament.

Match Preview

The New Zealand defeat behind them, India strutted to their practice session at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, looking very much like the pre-tournaments favourites, everyone considered them to be before the Nagpur aberration. The win over Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata has clearly had a galvanising effect on the team and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men look eager to build on the momentum as they head to the business end of the Super 10 phase of the ICC World Twenty20. Notwithstanding their return to form against Pakistan, the fact remains that a even a little slip-up now and their ambitions of progressing to the latter stages of the tournament would be severely dented.

On Wednesday (March 23), India face a very familiar opponent, one whose rise as a limited-overs side over the last 12 months, they've have had the privilege of observing from close quarters. Ever since a Rohit Sharma ton edged Bangladesh out of the 2015 World Cup in the quarterfinal stage, the two have teams have batted on rather equal terms. Bangladesh struck back later that year to record their first bilateral ODI series win over India before the Dhoni & Co. braved tricky conditions and a raucous Mirpur crowd to register two successive wins in the T20 format, during the Asia Cup.

The clash in Bengaluru, though, will be played under vastly different circumstances. The two sides have never met in a Twenty20 International on Indian soil. In fact, their last limited-overs game in India came back in 1998. And while Bangladesh are bracing themselves to avoid an unenviable 0-4 Super 10 record, India seek two points they dearly need to keep pace with the other teams in an already congested group table.

Mashrafe Mortaza & Co. have everything to gain from the clash, after their World T20 campaign was severely blighted by the untimely suspensions of Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny. India, on the other hand, have all to lose. Dhoni will also keep tabs on the Net Run Rate situation, with as many as three teams (also including Pakistan and Australia) in the mix for a knockout berth, along with leaders New Zealand.

When: India vs Bangladesh, March 23, Group 2 - 1930 IST

Where: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

What to expect: A pitch adjacent to the on which Monday's Australia-Bangladesh game was played, will be in use for the clash. A smattering of grass should allow for decent carry. With humidity on the lower side, little to no dew is expected to come into play during the second innings and spinners should play a part for the duration of the game.

Team News:

India

India settled on a playing XI long before the World T20 got underway and Dhoni wouldn't be easily tempted into chopping and changing sides, more so when the stakes are as high as they are presently. However, as he indicated in Kolkata, should the pitch give any indication of being another rank turner, the captain could be swayed into considering a move to bring in one of Pawan Negi or Harbhajan Singh for Hardik Pandya.

Despite possessing a rather settled batting line-up, India have a problem or two address. Twice in two games, the top-order has crumbled. An over reliance on Virat Kohli to bail them out of tricky situations time and again does not bode well for a team hoping to finish as champions. Shikhar Dhawan scored a half-century in the Asia Cup final, when these two sides met last. If he, and Suresh Raina, can get some runs under their belt, it would hold India in good stead going deeper into the tournament.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh are sweating on the fitness of in-form opener Tamim Iqbal, who missed their last game due to a bout of food poisoning. The left-hander has just under 48 hours to prove his fitness and the team management will be hoping he does, especially with other opener Soumya Sarkar going through a bad patch of form. Musftafizur Rahman was effective on his comeback against Australia and will relish another crack at a line-up, he troubled ever so consistently last year. Following a sub-par performance on debut, Bangladesh could also consider replacing Saqlain Sajib with Nasir Hossain, who's had experience bowling on this surface during last year's A tour of India.

What they said:

Ashish Nehra: With this format, as everybody knows, from game one, more or less every game is a knockout game. So till the time you don't lift the trophy, every game is a knockout game. There's not too much room for error. Hopefully with the kind of firepower we have, if we deliver, we'll definitely win the game.

Shakib Al Hasan: Our mindset has certainly changed a lot throughout the last three-four years. Now we know how we can win games. We have more contributors. Previously there used to be two or three guys. Now there are four or five match winners. These are the big changes. Obviously because we were playing at home and were doing so well. That confidence gave us a chance to show that even in different conditions we can do well.