Batting the key to Bangladesh revival
Sunday, 24 January 2010
After the verbal jousts that spiced up the contest in Chittagong, the teams arrived in Dhaka having proved their points in different ways, according to website cricinfo. Virender Sehwag had called Bangladesh "ordinary", but for the first half of the match they were more than a match for the Indians. Sehwag himself would have felt vindicated by the fact that India won by 113 runs, though Bangladesh did come close to taking the 20 wickets that he thought them incapable of.
But for a magnificent century from Sachin Tendulkar, Bangladesh could have embarrassed India even further in helpful conditions on the opening day, but that inability to close out games brought back memories of Fatullah (2006) and Multan (2003), when both Australia and Pakistan were allowed to escape from losing positions. What is clear though is that the new generation of Bangladeshi cricketers, exemplified by Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, isn't cowed down by the opposition's reputation. Having tasted victory over some of the big boys at the Under-19 level, they certainly aren't intimidated.
India, for their part, are unlikely to be as sloppy as they were in Chittagong, and they will certainly be boosted by the return of MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh. However, VVS Laxman's absence through injury - he has been ruled out - means the batting is a bit weaker. With Sreesanth having gone home with a hamstring strain, it wouldn't be surprising if Amit Mishra was retained after a decent showing in the first Test. It's been years since India won four Tests on the bounce, and success in Dhaka will set them up nicely for a two-match series against South Africa that will almost certainly decide which team is ranked No.1 in the world.
Shakib Al Hasan shone with the ball in the opening Test, but will feel that he could have done so much more with the bat. His temperament under pressure was a huge factor in Bangladesh's triumph in the Caribbean, and he'll need to be on top of his batting game if India are to be upset in Dhaka.
Team:
Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Raqibul Hasan, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 9 Shafiul Islam, 10 Shahadat Hossain, 11 Rubel Hossain.
India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 M Vijay, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ishant Sharma.
But for a magnificent century from Sachin Tendulkar, Bangladesh could have embarrassed India even further in helpful conditions on the opening day, but that inability to close out games brought back memories of Fatullah (2006) and Multan (2003), when both Australia and Pakistan were allowed to escape from losing positions. What is clear though is that the new generation of Bangladeshi cricketers, exemplified by Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, isn't cowed down by the opposition's reputation. Having tasted victory over some of the big boys at the Under-19 level, they certainly aren't intimidated.
India, for their part, are unlikely to be as sloppy as they were in Chittagong, and they will certainly be boosted by the return of MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh. However, VVS Laxman's absence through injury - he has been ruled out - means the batting is a bit weaker. With Sreesanth having gone home with a hamstring strain, it wouldn't be surprising if Amit Mishra was retained after a decent showing in the first Test. It's been years since India won four Tests on the bounce, and success in Dhaka will set them up nicely for a two-match series against South Africa that will almost certainly decide which team is ranked No.1 in the world.
Shakib Al Hasan shone with the ball in the opening Test, but will feel that he could have done so much more with the bat. His temperament under pressure was a huge factor in Bangladesh's triumph in the Caribbean, and he'll need to be on top of his batting game if India are to be upset in Dhaka.
Team:
Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Raqibul Hasan, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 9 Shafiul Islam, 10 Shahadat Hossain, 11 Rubel Hossain.
India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 M Vijay, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ishant Sharma.