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Team India will be aiming to collect four wins in as many outings and inch closer to a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup semi-finals when they face Bangladesh in Pune on Thursday.
World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table
The upcoming fixture will be the 17th match of the ongoing tournament, as well as the first to take place at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
India head into the fixture on the back of victories over five-time world champions Australia as well as against Afghanistan and Pakistan, making them one of only two teams — the other being New Zealand — to remain unbeaten so far in the tournament.
The Men in Blue had bossed arch-rivals Pakistan in all departments on Saturday at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. Pakistan suffered a batting collapse of epic proportions to get bowled out for 191 before India chased the target down with seven wickets and nearly 20 overs to spare.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, have suffered one-sided losses in their last two outings after starting their campaign with a six-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Dharamsala.
They would suffer a 137-run hiding against defending champions England at the same venue after being set 365 to win, and would suffer an eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand in Chennai after posting 245 on the board.
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A victory over neighbours Bangladesh should keep the Rohit Sharma-led side on top of the World Cup points table, though it would also depend on the result of the New Zealand-Afghanistan match in Chennai on Wednesday.
Men in Blue look to preserve winning combination
India have largely stuck to their winning combination so far in the ongoing World Cup, making only a couple of changes along the way, one of which was a forced one.
Ravichandran Ashwin had featured in the opening game against Australia on a turning track at Chepauk and made way for seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur for the next two games. Opener Shubman Gill, meanwhile, had missed the first two matches due to dengue, and his spot as Rohit’s opening partner was taken up by Ishan Kishan
Ahmedabad ✅
Touchdown Pune 📍#CWC23 | #TeamIndia | #MeninBlue | #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/ztXQzhO0y4
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 15, 2023
There were discussions ahead of the match against Bangladesh of the Men in Blue possibly resting either Jasprit Bumrah, who bagged the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his haul of 7-1-19-2 against Pakistan, or Mohammed Siraj on Thursday.
Mohammed Shami remains every bit a lethal option with the new ball as well as in the middle overs even if’s fallen behind Siraj in the pecking order, and would have been just as effective an option against Bangladesh.
Read | How Shami can make a comeback to Team India? Ex-India selector explains
Bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, however, hinted at the tournament hosts opting against tweaking their winning combination heading into Thursday’s fixture.
“It is important to maintain the start. As of now, there is no discussion of rotation from our point of view. We want to carry this momentum to the next game as well,” Mhambrey said in the press conference on the eve of the fixture.
Gill aiming for a better display with the bat
There haven’t been too many concerns with India’s performances so far in their campaign. Their bowling department have now dismissed two top sides for less than 200; while it was the spin department that played a primary role in bowling Australia out for 199, the seamers played as much of a part in dismantling Pakistan for 191.
Read | Indian top-order batters undergo extended sessions ahead of Bangladesh clash
The batting department too has been clinical, with skipper Rohit scoring 131 and 86 in his last two outings after a duck against Australia. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul chipped in with match-winning fifties against Australia, and Kohli would also finish the job against Afghanistan with an unbeaten half-century. No 4 batter Shreyas Iyer too would collect an unbeaten fifty against Pakistan to guide his team over the line.
Gill got off to a promising start against Pakistan in his maiden World Cup match, but was ultimately dismissed for 16 after collecting four boundaries in 11 deliveries. If anything, the 23-year-old — who has been India’s leading performer with the bat this year — will aim to deliver his first big performance in the biggest cricketing event of them all come Thursday.
Tigers sweat over Shakib’s fitness
Star all-rounder and Bangladesh captain Shakib had picked up a quadriceps injury during his team’s defeat at the hands of New Zealand. He wasn’t the only skipper injured in that game though; Kane Williamson too had hurt his thumb during the chase and ended up sitting out of the Afghanistan match.
Given his stature as one of the leading all-rounders of the modern era and arguably their greatest cricketer of all time, his presence not only bolsters Bangladesh’s batting, bowling and fielding departments but also boosts their morale.
The good news for the Tigers ahead of their fixture against India was that his injury isn’t as serious as it initially appeared to be, and Shakib is expected to lead his side on Thursday.
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan had suffered a quadriceps injury during the ICC World Cup match against New Zealand in Chennai. APBangladesh, meanwhile, have been thoroughly outplayed against England and New Zealand and have their fair share of concerns in their match against what surely is the standout team of the tournament so far.
Their top-order failed to fire in each of their last two matches and the side had to be rescued via contributions from their middle-order, primarily from Shakib and fellow veteran Mushfiqur Rahim. Their batting struggles have coincided with Najmul Hossain Shanto suddenly misfiring in his last two appearances, and the team will hope he regains his form against the Indians.
Shakib, along with Mehidy Hasan Miraz, had helped their side restrict Afghanistan to a manageable total of 156 in their opening game that they easily overhauled later. Their bowling efforts in the next two outings though, would appear uninspired. A key concern in this regard has been senior pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed not quite living up to their billing so far, having collected a total of two wickets between them so far.
Bangladesh, though, have had the upper hand against India in recent fixtures. Not only did they triumph over India for a second time in a bilateral ODI series at home, defeating them 2-1 last December, they were also the only team to beat India in the recently-concluded Asia Cup, which the Men in Blue ended up winning in style.
There’s nothing to suggest the Tigers can’t pull off something similar in their next game despite how things have panned out so far in the World Cup.
India vs Bangladesh World Cup 2023 match date
The India vs Bangladesh Cricket World Cup match will be played on Thursday, 19 October.
India vs Bangladesh World Cup 2023 match time
The India vs Bangladesh Cricket World Cup match will start at 2 PM IST. The toss will take place at 1.30 PM IST.
India vs Bangladesh World Cup 2023 match venue
The India vs Bangladesh Cricket World Cup match will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
India vs Bangladesh World Cup 2023 match LIVE Streaming
The India vs Bangladesh Cricket World Cup match will be broadcast live on Star Sports Network and live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
India vs Bangladesh head-to-head
India lead Bangladesh 3-1 in ICC Cricket World Cups.
Bangladesh had registered a shock five-wicket victory over India in 2007 in the first World Cup meeting between the two teams. The two sides would go on to face each other in the next three editions of ICC’s showpiece event, with the Men in Blue emerging victorious on each occasion.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur.
Bangladesh: Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Hasan Mahmud, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed.
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