The Hindu : Sport : India meets Bangladesh

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Saturday, Jun 28, 2008
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Sport

Sport

India meets Bangladesh

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

— Photo: AFP

Oops! The Indian fielding has to right itself so as to ensure dropped catches like these from Gautam Gambhir against Pakistan are not repeated in the semifinal league stage.

Karachi: Swashbuckling bats and nonchalant victories might have gifted a halo to India’s initial campaign in the STAR Cricket Asia Cup tournament.

However, as the semifinal league commences with the game against Bangladesh on Saturday, perhaps its time to put a pause to fun and frolic.

M.S. Dhoni’s men will surely walk into the National Stadium with added confidence thanks to their comprehensive Group B victories over Hong Kong and Pakistan.

Plug gaps

History too has been a good ally as India has won five matches out of the seven it has played at this venue but there are gaps to be plugged before a champion’s impregnable sheen sticks to this team.

The fielding dipped alarmingly against Pakistan on Thursday, with three catches being spilled. Dhoni later said, “I think we were not getting our hands to the ball, catching air, I guess.”

The bowling did falter when Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan freed their arms and moved their feet. It remains to be seen whether Irfan Pathan will be fit for this game.

Batting has come good

The big plus has been the batting with Sehwag, Gambhir and Raina running hot. Dhoni and Yuvraj too look assured.

However, the team will be wary of Bangladesh that pulled the rug from under its complacent feet during the 2007 World Cup.

After playing Bangladesh, India will take on Pakistan and Sri Lanka on July 2 and 3. Surely tougher battles but having carried forward the crucial two points thanks to its earlier victory over Pakistan, the team as Dhoni said, does have a marginal advantage.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh, after riding high on skipper Mohammad Ashraful’s 109 to defeat UAE in its Group A match at Lahore, scraped terra firma after a 131-run defeat against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Bangladesh, which lost to India by seven wickets in the Kitply Cup at Dhaka recently, will need to raise its game if it has to trigger an upset.

The teams (from): India: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh (vice-captain), V. Sehwag, G. Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, R.P. Singh, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Manpreet Gony and Pragyan Ojha.

Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful (captain), M. Mortaza, A. Razzak, Alok Kapali, D. Mahmud, Farhad Reza, M. Mahmudullah, Mehrab Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mosharraf Hossain, Nazimuddin, Raqibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Nafees Ahmed and Iqbal Khan.

Umpires: Simon Taufel and Brian Jerling; Third umpire: Gamini Silva. Match referee: Alan Hurst.