A stern test awaits Team India when the Men in Blue walk out to face Bangladesh in Adelaide on Wednesday (November 02). The T20 World Cup Group 2's Super-12 clash will pin India's fragile batting line-up against Bangladesh's inexperienced bowling attack.
The match in all likelihood will decide the fate of Group 2 and India's probable semi-final opponents from Group 1. The Adelaide Oval has offered enough assistance to both bowlers and batters but for India, the ghosts of 2020 will definitely be in the mind of players and fans.
Rain has so far caused a handful of World Cup games to be called off. The venue of the India vs Bangladesh game is Adelaide Oval. Off late, there have grey skies with periodic rains in Adelaide and even today (match day), the weather is overcast, gloomy and dull, with slight rain in the air already. The brief spell of rain is expected to subside later on in the day and India is playing the second game after the tie between Zimbabwe and the Netherlands.
One can only hope and pray for the rain gods to show mercy and let fans feast on a high-drama clash between two subcontinental teams.
The Men in Blue overcame a staunch Pakistan bowling attack to win their first match, before brushing aside the Netherlands. But in their third game, the frailties of India's batting were laid bare during their five-wicket loss to South Africa on Sunday, October 30. Facing an inconsistent Bangladesh side now might be the best chance for India to seal a spot in the semifinal.
India's squad for T20 WC: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Hooda.
Bangladesh's squad for T20 WC: Shakib al Hasan (captain), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraj, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Litton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Yasir Ali, Nasum Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
