India will strive to avoid a ‘Banglawash’
On the eve of the third and final One-Day International between India
and Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium here, the
prevalent question was, “Can India, trailing 2-0 in the series?'
In Bangladesh, known for its rain and rivers, a series whitewash has acquired a popular coinage — ‘Banglawash’.
On
the eve of the third and final One-Day International between India and
Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium here, the
prevalent question was, “Can India, trailing 2-0 in the series, avoid a
Banglawash?”
The host, which has played
extraordinarily well to outclass a higher-ranked side in the last two
ODIs, expects to repeat its feat of a 3-0 clean sweep against Pakistan
last April.
In an anti-climactic end to its pre-tour
expectation, India may actually have nothing to lose! All it is left
with is restoring some pride and confidence by winning the final ODI,
though rain threatens to impact the contest.
The
riddle for India is how to stop the Tigers on the prowl. The sensational
performance of rookie left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who has claimed
11 wickets in the first two matches of his career, has been the biggest
worry for the visitors. They are have been rudely rattled while looking
for answers to the teenager’s might.
Will Binny play?
M.S.
Dhoni has already fielded 14 of the 15 players at his disposal and it
will be interesting to see whether he selects the remaining member,
all-rounder Stuart Binny, who had achieved his career best figures of
six for four at the same venue last year, for the final encounter.
Binny, who has been in the team as the only genuine all-rounder in the
country, has been reduced to a spectator thus far.
Apart
from executing its plans well and limiting the damage against
Mustafizur to the minimum, India will do well to take a leaf out of
Bangladesh’s book and maintain some high intensity throughout the
50-over contest.
Bowling in the right areas to keep
the aggressive Bangladeshi top-order batsmen quiet will be the primary
task of the pacers before the spinners come into the picture. Only Dhoni
knows what combination — three seamers or three spinners — will win his
confidence.
The bright spot in the Indian attack has
been off-spinner R. Ashwin’s form. But his lone effort has not borne
the desired fruit due to lack of support from other bowlers. He toils
and helps the attack acquire some ability to strike when in distress.
Individual efficiency
Barring
a few instances of individual efficiency from Rohit Sharma, Shikhar
Dhawan or Dhoni, the collective failure of the Indian batsmen has been
baffling. The team has failed to put up partnerships and has suffered
miserably because of this.
The Indian players, who
confined themselves to their hotel rooms for the last two days before
emerging for Tuesday’s practice session, will have to start afresh in
order to close the series on a positive note.
Life
has taken a new turn for many a Bangladeshi cricketer after the team’s
stupendous success in the series. The team’s preparations and plans have
stood it in good stead and hardly anything has gone wrong for the side
so far.
Under the command of its captain and seasoned
seamer Mashrafe Mortaza, the host has also benefitted from the
all-round showing of Nasir Hossain, the finishing skills of Shabbir
Rahaman, the brilliant batting of Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das and the
timely contribution of pacer Rubel Hossain.
Revolving
around Mustafizur’s phenomenal display, the concerted effort of the
Tigers in all three departments of the game has been superlative.
Bangladesh will love to carry on its flamboyance in order to earn a
perfect finish to the defining series in the history of its cricketing
journey.
The teams (from):
India: M.S.
Dhoni (captain), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Shikhar
Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar
Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Stuart Binny and
Dhawal Kulkarni.
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