Mirpur, June 16:
A confident Indian cricket team would look to keep the momentum going in its favour as it gears up to complete an expected series victory against minnows Bangladesh in the second of the three-match ODI series here tomorrow.
Having won the rain-truncated lung-opener fairly comfortably, Suresh Raina’s boys are eyeing an unassailable 2-0 lead against Bangladesh which will help them get the much required confidence before the England ODI series comes calling.
A series against Bangladesh is a thankless one as one doesn’t get credit for a win but faces a lot of backlash if there is a freak defeat.
Rahane was also a picture of confidence during his innings of 64.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the victim of an umpiring blooper and would surely like to make it count as he is likely to get a full series this time. However, time is running out for the Saurashtra ‘Run-Machine’ as far as cementing his place in the limited overs side is concerned.
Skipper Raina and Ambati Rayudu would be hoping to get another decent hit in the middle but obviously not at the expense of a poor opening start.
It will be interesting to see whether India make a few changes or not as far as their bowling department is concerned.
Medium pacer Mohit Sharma couldn’t complete his full quota of 10 overs owing to an injury which kept him out for the better part of the Bangladesh innings.
However, with both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami rested for the series, there are very few options for Raina. These options include Vinay in case Mohit does not get fit in time for the second ODI.
Among the debutant spinners, Parvez Rasool was impressive of the two while Akshar Patel might have to make way for either Stuart Binny or Manoj Tiwary — both of whom are potentially batting all-rounders.
Teams:
India: Suresh Raina (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Akshar Patel, Parvez Rasool, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Stuart Binny, R Vinay Kumar.
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyadh, Nasir Hossain, Ziaur Rahaman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Sohag Gazi, Shamsur Rahaman. (PTI)
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