Two of the hosts will clash for preliminary bragging rights at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday as the first game of the 2011 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup gets under way! Subcontinental behemoth India and rising tiger Bangladesh will lock horns, with history lurking in the vicinity, seeking to keep fresh memories of the last time these two met in the World Cup. Or at least Bangladesh will hope to rekindle such memories, whereas India will seek staunchly to ignore that sordid chapter of their cricketing history.
The Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, with a capacity to seat 25,000, is famous for its drainage facilities. The last two games the two teams played at this venue resulted in a 6-wicket win for India each time. It is reputed to have a flat and slow wicket, and with the weather forecast being sunny, the drainage will not seem to be called upon to clear any water-clogging, though perhaps if it rains runs...
India
The 4th spot in the Indian line-up seems to be gravitating towards Virat Kohli, who rang in another sturdy performance on Wednesday. Although, in that match, Yuvraj Singh did not get a chance to clear the ambivalence surrounding his batting and Suresh Raina partly demolished the Kiwi attack, statements from Dhoni have indicated that it will be Raina who will need to sit out. With Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag manning the top, and Gambhir to follow soon after, the Bangladeshis will have their work cut out.
India's two outings in the warm-ups brought out the abundance in the Indian spin coffers. While Harbhajan Singh, with his experience, is an ensconced entity in the bowling department, Ravichandran Ashwin has been making heads and bats turn with his mysterious variations and deathly lines. As much as Piyush Chawla must surely have struck a chord with the selectors, Ashwin, through no fault of his, seems to be a better second fiddle to Bhajji, as he can both attack and hold one end up. Zaheer will be welcomed back into the fold for this game to resume spearheading duties. S. Sreesanth, who has Praveen Kumar's skillful shoes to fill, was expensive against the Kiwi openers, while Munaf Patel went for eleven an over against the Aussies. With India tending towards playing two spinners, Ashish Nehra, who has been good so far with the new ball, will most likely get the nod for second seamer.
India will stride into this match glowing with the knowledge of having made very good use of the warm-up matches. While, in the game against Australia, they tested their ability to hold fast to a match no matter the match summary thus far, against the Black Caps, they gave vent to their repressed batting force. Their bowling stood out on both occasions, notwithstanding the absence of their bowling friend, father and confidante Zaheer.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh's fortunes depend greatly on opener Tamim Iqbal's mood and form. As seen in their warm-up against Pakistan, the middle order could not hold its own when Tamim departed early. Imrul Kayes, however, is an able calming foil for the mercurial Tamim. Junaid Siddique at one down is sitting on some ripe scores off late, and looked to be in similar nick on Tuesday. The failed experiment of Mushfiqur Rahim at no. 4 should give Mohammad Ashraful, who himself was not much of a success at no. 6, his rightful slot back. Shakib Al Hasan will be the most important batsman in the middle and look to hold together both the tottering ends of the team's line-up.
Pace bowlers Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain both are in good touch, if only that Hossain is slightly on the leakier side. Shakib, who is growing into a veritable Daniel Vettori for Bangladesh, as captain and lynchpin bowler, has showed good form so far, with wickets as well as economy. Abdur Razzak and and Suhrawadi Shuvo would have seen how effective spin can be in this tournament, and will seek to sharpen their fingers to try and trouble the likes of right-handed Sehwag and Kohli.
Bangladesh's fielding was a point of contention against Pakistan, as they dropped as many as four catches. The team's coach Jamie Siddons, disappointed, was thankful that this kind of thing had happened before the game on 19th. They will need to be at the top of their game, and higher, against a rampaging India.
Starts in:22 hours 45 minutes!!
