CARDIFF: India started off slow and steady against Bangladesh who after winning the toss elected to field and knocked seven wickets with 359 runs in the final warm-up match on Tuesday.
Two of the tournament favourites have conceded their respective first warm-up matches. Like England did to Australia, India lost to New Zealand, albeit a lot more comprehensively. Ravindra Jadeja played down the defeat, saying it was “nothing to worry”. Nevertheless, India will be keen to back those words by returning to winning ways.
As was feared, India’s reliance on their top-order hurt them against New Zealand. Their top three collectively managed 22 runs, and it had a ripple effect on the rest of the line-up, as they crumbled to 179 all out. That they got there was only down to Ravindra Jadeja’s timely 54 from No.8. Their bowlers, though they didn’t have much to play with, underwhelmed too. While Trent Boult was relentless as he cut through the Indian line-up with his swing, India’s bowlers couldn’t capitalise on two early wickets, as New Zealand aced the chase with 77 balls to spare. These frailties leave plenty for the team to address on Tuesday.
As for their opponents, they lost their first chance at tuning up for the event when their match against Pakistan was abandoned without a ball bowled. But Bangladesh are still fresh off their win in the Ireland tri-nation series, which took place in somewhat similar conditions. They have both recent experience and form on their side, which would make them a tough opponent for Virat Kohli’s men to overcome.
Weather forecast
Overcast conditions are expected throughout. Chances of rain peak at 11am local time, which is half an hour after the start, so we could potentially be in for another delayed start.
Bangladesh (Batting XI, Fielding XI):
Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Abu Jayed
India (Batting XI, Fielding XI):
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Lokesh Rahul, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni(w), Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
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