Five keys to Bangladesh winning against India

Bangladesh will be taking on the number one ranked ODI team, India, in a must-win World Cup group stage match in Edgbaston.

While India have looked unbeatable until their defeat against England, they will start off as hot favourites against the Tigers.

Bangladesh do have a chance to do damage and take inspiration from their famous 2007 World Cup win over India and here are five things that need to happen for a Bangladesh win -

1. A good opening partnership: Whether Bangladesh bat first, or second, the opening pair of Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar needs to be a big one. They have both been batting well but none of them have played a big knock so far, and both will be looking to do so in the most important match of their World Cup campaign. We have seen time and time again that teams getting 100-150 runs in the opening stand end up being on the winning side, as was also the case for England against India in their last match

2. Mustafiz needs to fire: Mustafizur Rahman burst into the scene in 2015, right after the World Cup and he was at his lethal best against India in the three-match ODI series in Bangladesh. Bangladesh won that series 2-1 and Mustafiz was man-of-the-series taking 13 wickets. He will have to rediscover that form against the Indians to ensure they don’t put up an imposing total. We have seen Mustafiz do well in the middle and death overs this World Cup but he hasn’t been economical, early in the innings, and he’s due a big performance.

3. Target the Indian spinners: In the last game against England, the Indian spinners - Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav - who are generally excellent in the middle overs, were targeted by the English batsmen and got hit for plenty on a ground with a short boundary. Since it will be the same ground the Bangladeshi batsmen, especially Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, who are excellent players of spin, will have to take the onus and score quickly in the middle overs.  

4. Win toss, bat first: Bangladesh have shown that they can chase well as they are the only team to have successfully chased a 300-plus total in the World Cup so far, when they beat the West Indies. But as was the case in the last game, a total close to 350 was too much for India to chase, even though MS Dhoni and Kedar Jhadav lacked attacking intent. So far in the tournament, the ‘Men in Blue’ have shown that even when they score around 250, they can defend it. On the other hand, Bangladesh are the only team to have twice conceded 380-plus runs bowling first, so batting first should be the way to go. 

5. Kohli, Rohit and Pandya need to go cheaply: Rohit Sharma has been in amazing form this World Cup, scoring three centuries while Virat Kohli has been consistent, with five consecutive fifty-plus scores, but not at his peak; Hardik Pandya has been a massive asset for India, especially in the death overs with his big-hitting when they bat first. If the Bangladesh bowlers can manage to get them out early, the rest of the Indian batting order doesn’t look as threatening and this is an area where the Tigers can make inroads.