Colombo: India would like to throw the mathematical possibilities out of the window and seal their place in the final of the Twenty20 tri-series when they face a tricky Bangladesh, here on Wednesday.
Having suffered an unexpected defeat against Sri Lanka in their tournament-opener, it is highly unlikely that India will experiment against a resurgent Bangladesh in their final league stage match.
Bangladesh’s confidence has been boosted by their record 215-run chase against Sri Lanka and a win against India will bolster their chances of making it to the finals.
A defeat may not be end of the road for India as it will then depend on the outcome of final game between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Net run-rate will also be a factor.
With back-to-back victories in the last two games, India have a healthy net run-rate of +0.21. For India, the tournament at the beginning was about giving youngsters a chance in the absence of seasoned players but for a side which is always under scanner, results will be paramount and that effectively stops them from being adventurous in team selection
A few players such as Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel are yet to play a game in the tournament, which means the purpose of sending a second string side has not been served. Hooda, for instance, did not get to play even during the home series against Sri Lanka.
For India the biggest worry is skipper Rohit Sharma’s form.
One of India’s most successful white ball players in recent times, the talented Mumbaikar is waiting for that one big knock that will propel him back to form.
India have not got good starts in the tournament despite Shikhar Dhawan’s (153) blazing form as Rohit has been dismissed cheaply in all the matches.
Suresh Raina has got his 20s while Manish Pandey has remained steady in the middle-order. Dinesh Karthik’s 39 off 25 balls against Sri Lanka has ensured that Rishabh Pant will continue to warm the dug-out.
It will be interesting to see if Rohit promotes KL Rahul to open the innings and himself comes down at no. 4 — something that he has done for Mumbai Indians in the IPL over the years.
Rahul is a specialist opener, who is also used as a floater in the middle-order.
