India will face Bangladesh in their second Super 8 fixture of the T20 World Cup 2024 in Antigua on Saturday. The IND vs BAN match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium will start at 8 pm IST.
In their opening Super 8 match, title contenders India cruised to a 47-run victory over Afghanistan riding on a superb fifty from Suryakumar Yadav and incisive first spell from Jasprit Bumrah. Bangladesh were handed a 28-run DLS defeat by Australia in their opening Super 8 clash.
Both teams will be desperately hoping for their batting stars to strike form in the important match of the T20 World Cup. The overall head-to-head record is overwhelmingly in India’s favour but Bangladesh have been known to be plucky and Rohit Sharma and his men would be wary of that.
With only a travel day separating their remaining two games, India would hope that the players, who have not performed as per expectations so far, deliver the goods.
Top of that list would be the opening pair of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both of whom have got starts but have been unable to turn them into defining knocks. They have made a conscious effort to force the pace but have ended with minimal returns.
Another under-pressure team member is left-hander Shivam Dube, who was picked in the World Cup squad to hammer sixes in the middle and death overs. However, the IPL form that helped him seal a World Cup berth has deserted him and he is yet to come to the party.
On the bowling front, India are expected to retain the combination having given the first opportunity of the tournament to crafty left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
India’s sole aim in the Caribbean is to win the trophy and a solid performance against Bangladesh will be another step forward in that context. A tougher battle awaits against Australia on June 24.
Bangladesh, who have struggled with their batting throughout the tournament, find themselves in a must-win situation after the loss to Australia. The lack of power-hitters is hurting them and there is no quick fix to that problem. The underperformance of opener Litton Das and Tanzid Khan has also compounded Bangladesh’s woes.
The pacers, led by Mustafizur Rahman, have done alright but leg-spinner Rishad Hossain needs more support in the spin department.