India vs Bangladesh | 2nd T20 International - Statistical Preview
After a heart-breaking loss in the series opener, India would aim for nothing less than a win in the second T20I in Rajkot. Even though Bodog has heavily backed India to win the match, Bangladesh will push hard to win the second one in a row and seal the series for the first time against the foes.
Form Guide
India - L-L-W-NR-W-W-W-L-L-L
While India’s record in T20s was termed as ‘mixed’ prior to the loss against Bangladesh last Sunday, ‘average’ would be a fitting term now. India have surprisingly lost 5, won 4, while one of the games had no result. Even though India benched most of their core players in the last match, the loss is still not justifiable on the eleventh hour of the World T20 preparations. The win over West Indies in the United States is the only notable achievement by India in recent times. ‘The Men in Blue’ is yet to win a T20 series at home for close to a year, having shared the spoils with South Africa last month and the 0-2 loss to Australia earlier this year. With 0-1 down in the current series, India have everything to play for.
Bangladesh – W-N-W-W-L-W-L-W-L-W
Surprisingly, Bangladesh have had a better record than India in the past year or so, having won 6, lost 3 matches and the remaining game yielding no result. The recent tri-series in Bangladesh, including Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, was a successful outing for Bangladesh even though the final was abandoned. Apart from the minnows, they have played West Indies for a couple of series, winning one while losing the other. But, their most memorable achievement was when they got the better of India for the first time in their history at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi last Sunday. Bangladesh would aim to go for the kill and seal the series in Rajkot on Thursday.
Head to head
India: 8, Bangladesh: 1
Bangladesh:1, India: 8
Key Batsmen
Rohit Sharma
The ‘Hitman’ is not only leading the Indian side in the ongoing T20 series against Bangladesh but is also best shouldering the burden of scoring runs at the top of the batting order. The dependency was one of the main reasons India failed to get a big total on the board in the first match in Delhi. The Mumbai-based player has featured in 99 T20Is and scored 2452 at an average of 31.84, which includes four centuries. Even though he is struggling to find the rub of his luck in the last six matches, where he just scored 126 runs at an average of 21, Bodog still predicts that Rohit Sharma is going to be India’s most valuable batsman in the 2nd T20I
Mushfiqur Rahim
The Bangladeshi skipper is all over the headlines after his heroic effort against India in the first T20I on Sunday. With his unbeaten 60-run knock, he steered his team to their first-ever win over India in the shortest format of the game. What’s more remarkable is that his record against India has improved at a staggering rate. In the 8 matches he played against India, Rahim has scored 225 runs at an average of 45 while the average dips to 20.67 overall. The experienced campaigner adds a lot of quality to the team which has been evident from his contributions for the past few years. Quite obviously, Bodog feels that Mushfiqur Rahim is going to be Bangladesh's saviour once again in the next match.
Key Bowlers
Yuzvendra Chahal
The leg-spinner might not be a regular in the squad, but he has got all the ingredients to make a top-class bowler. Just when everyone thought that Deepak Chahar would just hog the limelight in the T20I in Delhi, the spinner was the only decent bowler with figures of 1 for 24 in 4 overs. But it was not enough to save India from a heart-breaking defeat. So far, he has played 32 T20Is and picked up 47 wickets at an average of 21.19. Meanwhile, his record goes uphill when he faces the neighbours. Although he faced Bangladesh just on 4 occasions, he has scalped 6 wickets at an average of 13.66, with a remarkable economy rate of 5.12. This is the reason why Bodog has backed him to make a match-changing difference in the upcoming match.
Mustafizur Rahman
The left-arm bowler has been an asset in the Bangladesh cricket team for quite some years now. While bowling in the T20 format is an especially daunting task for bowlers where they get only 24 balls, the Bangladeshi had mastered the art. Having played 35 T20Is, ‘The Fizz’ has taken 52 wickets at an average of 19, which is quite impressive as per the standards. Although he bowled only two overs in the last match against India in Delhi, his record against India is not that great to talk about. In the 6 matches he bowled to the Indian batsmen, he has only managed to scalped 4 wickets. But he still has the potential to pose a threat to the Indian batting line up in Rajkot this Tuesday, which makes Bodog predict him as the pick of the bowlers.
Venue Statistics
Only two T20Is have been staged at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, with India winning one and losing the other. India chased down a target 201 against Australia back in 2013, with the help of Yuvraj Singh’s unbeaten 77-run innings. In the other match, India managed to score just 156 runs after New Zealand posted a total of 196, with Colin Munro top-scoring with an unbeaten 109. With an average score of 377 runs per game, the bowlers will have their task cut out on Tuesday evening.
Bodog Predictions
For a neutral, India are the outright favourites to win the match but Bangladesh cannot be taken lightly because they have the potential to punch above its weight on any day, even without big shots like Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. In a batting-friendly pitch, we are in for a run-fest and Bodog is predicting India to hit the most number of sixes and win the match.
Squads
India
Rohit Sharma(Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant(wk), Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur
Bangladesh
Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mahmudullah (c), Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Animul Islam, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaiful Islam, Abu Haider Rony, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam.
Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
When to watch: November 7, 2019, 7 PM
Where to watch: Hotstar and Star Network
Who’s scoring more? Who’s among the wickets? To keep a track of all the events of the match, keep your eye on Bodog.
Predicted XIs
India
Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), Kruna Pandya, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed
Bangladesh
Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah (c), Mosaddek Hossain, Afif Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Abu Haider