History awaits Bangladesh, as the Tigers lock horns with India in the third T20I match in Nagpur today (Sunday). After winning the first T20I of the three-match series convincingly, Tigers were drubbed by the Indians in the second match. However, they now have another shot to clinch the series and make history by winning a series for the first time on Indian soil.
If Bangladesh are to create history on Sunday, they will surely have to play out of their skins against the Rohit Sharma-led side, which seems to have got its mojo back after a convincing victory in Rajkot. The Bangladesh bowlers lost the plot in the second T20I as Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan put on a 118-run stand in India's chase of a 154-run target.
Bangladesh’s batting frailties in the second T20 match was visible to everyone. Especially, the middle order batsmen failed to convert a good opening start into a big score. Lack of a proper finisher might hurt the Tigers again. Therefore, batsmen definitely need to keep the scoreboard moving at a quicker pace in today’s match. According to reports, Nagpur’s pitch is going to be similar to that of Rajkot. Players should keep that in mind and play accordingly.
Bowlers definitely need to get back that incisiveness, they showed in the first match. Bangladesh could be expected to add more firepower to their bowling ranks and given that the pitch is capable of assisting the spinners, the tourists might drop a pacer to accommodate an extra spinner. Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, sustaining a groin injury would be replaced by Mohammad Mithun while Mustafizur Rahman, who bowled only four overs in two games and looked out-of-sort will be axed to give Abu Haider Rony an opportunity to play T20 cricket after almost one year. On the other hand, India were quite up to the mark after a shocking loss in Delhi. The bowlers responded well after a below-par effort in the first T20I and were equally supported by the openers to set a platform for an easy win in the end. The only concern for the Rohit Sharma-led could be the form of the middle order, with the likes of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant needing to come good in the third game.
So, Bangladesh have nothing to lose ahead of today’s match. Players should play without any fear, give their all on the pitch. Who knows we might see history unfolding in Nagpur today.