Nidahas Trophy, Preview: India vs Bangladesh

Colombo, March 7 - A new-look Indian team will aim to recover from the five-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in the opening match when they face Bangladesh in the second match of the Nidahas Trophy Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tri-series here on Thursday.

Kusal Perera's brilliant 66 off 37 balls and some crucial contributions from the middle-order helped Sri Lanka beat India in the first game. After the Indian batsmen put up a decent target of 175, their bowlers failed to make a mark as the hosts hammered them all around the park. 

Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (2/37) and Washington Sundar (2/28) provided the crucial breakthroughs to control the run-flow. Towards the end, Dasun Shanaka (15 not out) and Thisara Perera (22 not out) played sensibly and helped their team clinch the issue.

After the loss, skipper Rohit Sharma also said that the track was good and batsmen could have score more towards the end. So in the upcoming match, middle and lower-order batsmen will aim to contribute and try to give the perfect finish.

In the bowling department, apart from the Chahal and Sundar no other bowler contributed. However, pacer Jaidev Unadkat scalped one wicket but in order to improve the performance from the last match, other bowlers have to contribute handsomely.

On the other hand, Bangladesh will take on the field without their regular skipper and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who is injured. In his absence, Mahmudullah will take charge. 

This could be an advantage to India if the Indian players stuck to the basics.

Squads: 
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant.

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Hider, Abu Jayed, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan, Liton Das.

---

IANS