India look to continue winning juggernaut in World Cup clash

Going by the current form of the teams, the popular pre-match prediction of India’s World Cup game against Bangladesh here on Thursday will be a romp for Rohit Sharma’s men. But if the glossy surface is scratched, one will have to tear away that view based on the form book.

Bangladesh have beaten India three times in the last four ODIs -- twice in a bilateral series in December 2022 and then in the Asia Cup Super Four match recently.

In this tournament, the underdogs have already shown how to slay the giants. If in doubt, check with England and South Africa about their feelings after their shock losses to Afghanistan and Netherlands respectively.

India would certainly want to avoid that banana peel and keep their good run intact in this World Cup. In the batting front, captain Rohit will look to continue his imperious form while top order batters Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli will be eager to score big.

Rohit has been at the forefront of India’s domination in the last couple of matches with stunning knocks of 86 against Pakistan and 131 against Afghanistan. India are perched on the top spot in the points table and they would aim to extend their winning run.

While the two knocks of highest quality have put Rohit in the limelight, his younger opening partner Gill would be itching to get a big score for himself, given that he is back to full fitness and has had an impressive run in the ODIs this year. For Kohli, a mistimed hit against Pakistan led to an early dismissal but that was a minor blip, as the batting maestro previously produced a masterful 85 against Australia and a match-winning 55 not out against Afghanistan.

Among others, Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten fifty against Pakistan has signalled that India’s batting is firing in unison and there are no real concerns.

While India will look to make the most of batting-friendly conditions here at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, their mixed record of four wins in seven matches at this venue in ODIs, combined with the recent run against Bangladesh -- three defeats in the last four one-dayers -- makes the bowlers’ role all the more important.

No doubt, India will be firm favourites against Bangladesh, considering their bowlers’ top class performances in restricting Australia for a mere 199 and Pakistan for a poor 191.

Indian bowlers too have done a collective job though Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance and Kuldeep Yadav’s guile made them a stand out attack from the rest in the competition, in their sheer ability to keep the opposition team’s scoring rate in check and making regular inroads even on the flattest of decks.

Bangladesh are not to be blamed if they spend a large part of their preparation time drawing up plans against Rohit, whose red-hot form promises a third century in a row in World Cup encounters against the ‘Tigers’.