Asia Cup 2018, Ind vs Ban: India eye winning start to Super-4 stage today

An upbeat India will be eyeing another convincing victory over Bangladesh in their first game of the Super four round of the Asia Cup 2018 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in United Arab Emirates today.
 
After a lacklusture show against minnows Hong Kong, defending champions India, led by stand-in captain Rohit Sharma, rode on an all-round show to outclass arch-rivals Pakistan by eight wickets on Wednesday.
 
India, however, will need to be careful today as the Mashrafe Mortaza-led Bangladeshis are well-known party spoilers. And, that India is not at its best in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, was revealed in their performance against Hong Kong. Indian bowlers were rather disappointing in that match, though they picked up the pieces and did well against the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Pakistani side.

 

For India, the worry will be arriving at a team combination, especially with Hardik Pandya now ruled out of the tournament following a back injury he suffered in the India vs Pakistan match, and the likelihood of pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar being rested after back-to-back games against Hong Kong and Pakistan.
 
Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed might be brought in place of Bhuvneshwar, but there is no clarity on who Pandya's replacement might be.
 
Deepak Chahar has been flown in as a replacement player, but he's unlikely to be drafted straightaway into the India playing 11.
 
Manish Pandey could add some batting depth and seems a more probable addition to India’s struggling middle order. As a candidate to fill in for Pandya in the bowling department, Kedar Jadhav, with his off breaks proving more than handy, could take care of the injured player’s quota of overs.

 
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were among the runs in the first two matches, while Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik looked solid against Pakistan. But it is the batting form of Mahendra Singh Dhoni that could be adding to the team management’s worries. Dhoni hasn't been firing and it will be interesting if Rohit moves him up the batting order to give the veteran some more time to settle down.
 
India marred by injuries
 
After Hardik Pandya’s injury, the Indian Team has now seen Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel also getting injured. BCCI has named the replacements for the three injured players — Deepak Chahar for Hardik Patel, Ravindra Jadeja for Axar Patel and Siddharth Kaul for Shardul Thakur. The inclusion of Ravindra Jadeja comes as a surprise, as he was consistently ignored after India’s ICC Champions Trophy debacle and featured only in 5-day cricket.

 
India vs Bangladesh rivalry in recent past
 
While India's rivalry with Pakistan is historic, their rivalry with Bangladesh, especially since the controversial 2015 World Cup quarterfinals at Melbourne, has been bitter.
 
However, one can't deny that Bangladesh are now a quality 50-over side, a format they have mastered following a formidable run at home, besides reaching the Asia Cup final in 2012.
 
Bangladesh Team News
 
Under the inspirational Mashrafe Mortaza and seasoned campaigners like Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah Riyadh, the team has the potential to go all the way up to the top in the pecking order.

 
With two quality pacers in Mustafizur Rahaman and Rubel Hossain, backed by the experience of Mortaza and Shakib on a slow deck, India could find it difficult to score big in the middle overs.
 
The Bangladesh team and its media's perception of India being the proverbial big bully adds a dash of excitement to the contest. So, Friday's encounter in Dubai will not be much different, with Bangladesh forced to play back-to-back matches (after a match with Afghanistan on Thursday in Abu Dhabi).
 
This wasn't the original schedule, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is believed to have convinced the Asian Cricket Council to tweak it, causing a lot of heartburn.

 
Here are the playing 11 probables of both the teams:
 
India playing 11: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Deepak Chahar/Manish Pandey, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Khaleel Ahmed, Jasprit Bumrah, Kudeep Yadav, Yuzuvedra Chahal
 
Bangladesh playing 11: Masrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
 
Asia Cup 2018 India vs Bangladesh Super Four match details
 
Match Date: 19 September, Wednesday
 
Match Time: 17:00 IST, 11:30 AM GMT, 03:30 PM LOCAL
 
Match Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai.

 
Asia Cup 2018 India vs Bangladesh match live streaming details
 
Pool A encounter of Asia Cup 2018, India vs Bangladesh, will be broadcasted on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD. It will be available for live streaming on Hotstar app. Tatasky subscribers can also watch the match on Tatasky mobile app.
 
India vs Bangladesh Toss prediction
 
Both the captains – Rohit Sharma and Mortaza— will look to win the toss and bowl first. Since, at Dubai International Stadium teams batting first won only 9 matches while team bowling first won 16 matches.

 
India vs Bangladesh: Dubai Stadium weather
 
The temperature is likely to touch the 39 degrees celcius mark when the game gets under way. It would drop to about 30 degrees when the sun sets.
 
Here are the Asia Cup 2018 squads of both teams
 
India Asia Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar
 
Bangladesh: Masrafe Bin Mortaza (captain), Shakib Al Hasan (vice-captain), Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Mithun, Litton Kumar Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nazmul Islam Apu, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Haider Rony.