DUBAI: Pakistan pummelled, India will look to up the ante against Bangladesh, who have a penchant for playing the party poopers, in their opening Super Four encounter of the Asia Cup here Friday.
For India, the worry will be the team combination as Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the tournament owing to back spasms, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar might be rested after back-to-back games against Hong Kong and Pakistan.
Manish Pandey can add batting depth and looks a possible addition in the middle-order, while Kedar Jadhav’s off breaks are more than handy, and he is expected to take care of Pandya’s quota of overs.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were amongst the runs in the first two matches while Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik looked solid against Pakistan.It is Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s batting form that could keep the team management worried. Dhoni hasn’t been firing and it will be interesting if Rohit promotes him in the batting order to give the veteran time to get settle down. While India’s rivalry with Pakistan is historic, the one against Bangladesh has been a bitter one post the controversial 2015 World Cup quarterfinal at Melbourne.
However, one can’t deny that Bangladesh are now a quality 50 over side, a format they have mastered after a formidable run at home besides reaching the Asia Cup final in 2012. Under the inspirational Mashrafe Mortaza the team has the potential to go all the way. (PTI)
