Bangladesh eye historic series win in India
The second T20 between Bangladesh and India will be played in Rajkot today (Thursday).
RAJKOT (Agencies) - Mahmudullah s men are riding high on their first win in Twenty20 International cricket against India, can they capitalise on that to seal the series with another win when they meet in Rajkot for the second game of the three-match series?
The win in Delhi in tough conditions was just what Bangladesh needed after a tumultuous few weeks, and with several of their big names missing. The visitors showed maturity in taking the game deep on a slow surface and were rewarded for it.
India will be under pressure to avoid another limited-overs series defeat at home: they lost to Australia earlier in the year, and drew with South Africa.
In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India s concern is their death bowling. Shardul Thakur is another bowling option for captain Rohit Sharma, while Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey are batsmen waiting on the bench. India, though, might choose to give their playing XI a longer rope before forcing any drastic changes.
In the series opener in Delhi, Mushfiqur Rahim exploded after a steady start to take Khaleel Ahmed for 18 in the penultimate over, and chase down India s 148/6 with seven wickets and three balls to spare. His match-winning 60* came off 43 balls, while Mohammad Naim (26) and Soumya Sarkar (39) made handy contributions.
Before those fireworks, on a tricky surface for batting, captain Mahmudullah used eight bowlers to put pressure on the Indian top order. Shafiul Islam and Aminul Islam picked up two wickets each, while Afif Hossain impressed with figures of 1/11 in three overs. Shikhar Dhawan made a laboured 41 off 42 balls, but few other Indian batsmen could kick on.
While pollution threatened the first T20I in Delhi, the Rajkot game could be hit by inclement weather. A cyclone in the nearby coastal region is expected to bring rain. The groundsmen, though, are confident in the efficiency of the drainage system and expect a game if rain is limited to the morning or early afternoon of match-day. While rain might slow the outfield, the pitch itself is expected to offer plenty of runs.
