World Cup: Earning their stripes against Bangla Tigers

Gaurav Kanthwal

Pune, October 18

Is there a surprise in store for the fans tomorrow as well? The last three days of the ODI World Cup have seen two major upsets — first Afghanistan beat defending champions England, and then Netherlands stunned high-flying South Africa.

3-1 Bangladesh have a 3-1 ODI record against India in the last 12 months — most recently winning their Super 4 encounter in the Asia Cup last month

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25 This is Bangladesh’s first ODI against India on their home soil in 25 years. They last played here in 1998

16 Bangladesh’s only win against India in the ODI World Cup was 16 years ago — in Trinidad in 2007

67.25 Virat Kohli has an average 67.25 and strike-rate of 101.25 in 15 ODIs against Bangladesh to go with four centuries

5 Shakib, Taskin and Mustafizur all have five-wicket hauls against India in ODIs

Is it the turn of Bangladesh next? It depends on which Bangladesh side turns up against a rampaging India at the MCA International Stadium here tomorrow. Will it be the side that beat India thrice in their last four ODI meetings, the most recent coming in the Asia Cup last month, or the team that has struggled in the World Cup so far with just one win and two losses?

There are no big teams in the World Cup. Whenever you start focussing only on bigger teams, an upset happens.

Virat Kohli took a guarded approach while replying to the official broadcaster regarding the trend of shock wins in this World Cup. “There are no big teams in the World Cup. Whenever you start focussing only on bigger teams, an upset happens,” he said. “You have to play your best against all these bowlers, and if you aren’t able to, these bowlers are able to create pressure and increase the chances of getting you out,” he added.

While India may look content with going with the flow, Bangladesh still have many creases to iron out. Their pace battery of Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman is just not clicking. Bangladesh’s batsmen are performing below-par and their talisman Shakib Al Hasan is yet to recover from a thigh injury. Shakib did not train on the match eve and will have to wait for the scans till tomorrow morning. “Over the years, I’ve played a lot against him (Shakib). He’s got amazing control. He’s a very experienced bowler. He bowls very well with the new ball, knows how to deceive the batsman, and is also very economical,” Kohli said of Bangladesh’s maverick all-rounder.

Any side with so many problems may not nurture any hope of a turnaround but Bangladesh are not a regular side. They are the underdogs with a bite. You never know which Bangladesh side may turn up on a given day.

In the World Cups, India have a 3-1 upper hand but Bangladesh have pushed India in the quadrennial event repeatedly. In the 2007 World Cup, Bangladesh knocked India out of the tournament with a five-wicket win in the group stage. In 2011, 2015 and 2019, India survived early scares against Bangladesh.

Pune has already witnessed one of the biggest upsets in the World Cup history when Kenya, a non-Test-playing team, shocked a star-studded West Indies by 73 runs in 1996.