India eye series win in Nagpur as Tigers target hosts’ inexperienced bowlers

Post a swashbuckling effort by stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma in the second T20I match in Rajkot -- which fired India to an emphatic series-leveling win -- the home side will look to carry the winning momentum into the series-deciding third T20I to be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium on Sunday.

However, Bangladesh, who kicked off their campaign with a seven-wicket win over the young Indian brigade in Delhi, would be setting their sights on upsetting the Indian applecart by posting a historic series win.

The visitors began well in the early part of the second T20I in Rajkot as they raced to 59/0 from seven overs after being put in to bat. However, they lost their way against the Indian spinners and ended up posting a below-par total.

The hosts chased down the total with utmost ease riding on the master-class of Rohit Sharma as they went across the line with eight wickets in hand. In Nagpur, Mahmudullah would, therefore, hope for a better performance from his batters so that the bowlers, particularly the spinners, can take advantage which would be on offer at the VCA Stadium.

On the other hand, Rohit will hope for an improved performance from his pacers who have not been able to make an impact so far in the two matches. The Indian team management might be tempted to bring in Shardul Thakur for left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed, who has produced returns of 1/37 and 0/44 in the series so far.

Another thing which the hosts would want to improve in the decider will be improvement in the fielding department. The Indian team was sloppy in the field in Rajkot and that’s one area where they would desperately want to make amends.

Teams batting first have won eight of the 11 T20Is played at this venue and thus it would be interesting to see what India would do in case they win the toss.

Rohit meanwhile, who is only two sixes away from joining the elite 400 sixes club in international cricket, is all set to reach another milestone.

In ODIs, Rohit has hammered 232 sixes, while he has struck 51 in Tests. In T20Is, the Mumbai batsman has struck 115 sixes so far. Rohit now needs just two sixes to join the 400 sixes club. Till now, only two players have reached the milestone. Former Pakistan batsman Shahid Afridi has 476 sixes while West Indies opener Chris Gayle has amassed 534 sixes in international cricket.

Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo meanwhile said that his side stands a chance to upset India in the third T20I if they can target the hosts’ inexperienced bowling attack effectively.

“It’s no secret that they got reasonably an inexperienced bowling attack. If we bat well, stick to our strategies we can put their bowling attack under pressure,” said Domingo on the eve of the game.

“So look, they are a good side but we do think that if we bat to potential, we can put their bowling attack under pressure.”

Domingo was also confident that fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman would come good in the final game. The 24-year-old is coming back from a brief spell on the sidelines due to injury and is yet to have a major impact in the series.

“He is a quality bowler. He is a match winner, and our most experienced bowler. We know that a big performance is just around the corner,” Domingo said.

“Bowlers are under pressure in this format, particularly with a wet ball against top quality batters on a good wicket.”

Indo-Asian News Service





Squads: India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant(wk), Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur

Bangladesh: Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mahmudullah (c), Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Animul Islam, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaiful Islam, Abu Haider Rony, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam