Boisterous Bangladesh eye India heist

India have an opportunity to lift the Asia Cup and live up to the 'World T20 favourites' billing, but it won't be an easy ride against an improved Bangladesh who will have a boisterous Mirpur crowd behind them.

Neither side thinks this will be an uneven contest. Though India beat Bangladesh soundly in the tournament opener, they are aware of what their opponents are capable at home, especially after a series loss in June 2015. Bangladesh are aware of their own strength, and there is an unmistakable confidence in their approach in T20Is these days. A win in the final would therefore be a watershed moment in this format for them.

India have been flawless in the tournament so far. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have made the best of every opportunity in crunch moments, while Yuvraj Singh is slowly coming into his own.

Rohit steered India after a sluggish start against Bangladesh; Kohli weathered the Mohammad Amir storm against Pakistan, while Yuvraj was in his elements against Sri Lanka. All this has meant MS Dhoni has faced all of nine balls in the tournament, while Suresh Raina hasn't had a major impact with the bat.

The story with the ball isn't too different. Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra have done the damage at the top, while Hardik Pandya has played the role of a third seamer to his captain's liking. The spinners - R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja - have done what they usually do, even though some of the surfaces they have played on haven't aided turn.

That Bangladesh find themselves in this position has been largely due to the effect their bowlers have had. Taskin Ahmed and Al-Amin Hossain have stepped up, while Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza have given fine supporting acts in their last three wins. The battle could get more interesting if the hosts decide to play Abu Hider, the BPL bowling hero, and off-spinning allrounder Nasir Hossain in place of Arafat Sunny and Mohammad Mithun.

Bangladesh's top three - Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman - have all shown good form in T20s this year, while Mahmudullah has been successful in his role as a finisher. There will be some worry over Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib's form, but they have been known to come good when pushed against the wall.

-via espncricinfo

Should be a cracking match. Bangladesh will have a lot of support going their way, and they are good at home. India will have to ensure they don't fall down the slippery slope of taking Bangladesh for granted. And let's hope there are no umpiring errors otherwise the match would be drowned in a sea of outrage.

Bangladesh are good at home against the minnows. Historically, they have struggled mightily at home against the top teams. Bangladesh have won just 4 times in the 16 T20 matches played at home against the top 8 sides in the world. Although admittedly, two of those wins have come during this Asia Cup (against Sri Lanka and a poor Pakistan side). They are 7-4 against all other teams at home. They have beaten up on the minnows but struggled very much against the better T20 teams.

They are currently 0-3 against India. My prediction for man of the match, Rohit Sharma. In three matches against Bangladesh, Sharma has an average of 58.33

I was talking about their limited overs form at home, where have beaten South Africa, India and Pakistan in recent times. Also they have been preparing green wickets in this tournament which have been the Achilles' heel for India. They have been saved by Virat Kohli every time the top order fails, and his role would be very important today

I am sure you will agree there is a big difference between T20 and 50 over ODIs. Case in point, Australia are just about unbeatable in ODIs but hapless when the game is shortened to 20 overs.

Check out the batting stats for India in T20 cricket over the last 12 months. Kohli, Sharma, Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni all have averages over 25 with strike rates over 120. Kohli is on a whole different planet in the shortest format of the game, but India's batting is based on more than just Kohli alone.

stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/i...results;type=batting

Boisterous Rain... :-[