Tigers eye improved batting display in Asia Cup dead rubber against India

The Asia Cup 2023 has not gone as per plan for Bangladesh. They lost twice to Sri Lanka who are ranked lower in the ICC ODI rankings. They had no answer really to the threat posed by Pakistan. The win against Afghanistan in batting-friendly Lahore remains their only success in the tournament. They will now face India, who became the first team to make the final, in the only dead rubber in the competition where several star players could be rested.

It could also be the last international match for some key Bangladesh players as their captain Shakib Al Hasan called for rest for World Cup-bound players in the New Zealand ODIs to keep them fresh and injury-free.

Even the team that will play in the World Cup could be a lot different from the one that is going to play India. The injured Najmul Hossain Shanto, still the team's highest scorer even after missing two games, should be there at the top of the order. The talismanic Mushfiqur Rahim will skip the India game to spend time with his wife and newborn son. 

Without Shanto and Mushfiqur, Bangladesh will be a hugely depleted side, missing the much-needed solidity at the top-order given the off-form of Litton Das, Mohammad Naim at the top-order and Shamim Hossain lower down. 

Mehidy Hasan Miraz has done quite well as a makeshift opener with scores of 112, 0 and 28 but the designated opener Naim has had a disastrous tournament. Tanzid Hasan Tamim, who was handed a debut in Bangladesh's Asia Cup opener, and Anamul Haque could be in line for a recall against India where they don't have much to lose. 

But they will be relieved to see Towhid Hridoy back in runs. The middle-order batter was under a bit of pressure after three low scores but roared back with a brilliant 82 against Sri Lanka. He will have to shoulder extra responsibility in Mushfiqur's absence in the middle-order.

"I don't really worry about the [extra] responsibility. I always look to follow the process. I try to contribute to the team whenever I get the opportunity," Hridoy told reporters on Wednesday. 

Hridoy batted in three different positions in four matches in the Asia Cup and with key players missing, the team might want to change his batting position again. But the youngster is ready for the challenge.

"I am ready to bat anywhere. If the team wants me to bat at the top or middle or even at the slog, I am ready," he said.

India, on the other hand, have looked by far the strongest side of the tournament. They scored big against India and masterfully closed out a low-scoring match in tricky conditions. But they are exhausted as well, having played for three consecutive days. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid could look to rest key players to have them fresh for the final on 17 September. 

All of their frontline batters have got runs in the tournament but they will be particularly happy to see KL Rahul in form. Rahul getting runs could solve a big middle-order problem for them. He knows the Bangladesh bowling attack well too, having scored a brisk 73 against them in December last year on a pitch quite similar to that in Colombo. 

India's bowling performance was excellent as well as they showed they are not over-reliant on Jasprit Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya bowled exceedingly well against Sri Lanka and the spin twins - Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja - got the ball to turn and bounce on a spin-friendly track. 

Given the nature of the wicket, Bangladesh should continue to play the extra spinner in Nasum Ahmed who did really well to stem the run flow against Sri Lanka. 

India did play an extra spinner too in Axar Patel but it was his batting which made the difference in the end as he added valuable runs at the lower order.

Bangladesh's only win over India in the Asia Cup (ODI) came way back in 2012. The last time the two teams locked horns in the tournament was in the 2018 Asia Cup final which India won in the last ball.