Team India starts its winter campaign as they host Bangladesh for three T20Is and two Tests.
The tour takes place on November 3 with the first T20I to be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium where India will be led by Rohit Sharma, as regular skipper Virat Kohli has been rested by the board.
India and Bangladesh an emerging rivalry in Asia that will have a huge attraction amongst fans of both sides, if there is more intensity shown by Bangladeshi players on the field to win matches. Both the sides have met eight times in a T20 International clash and the Tigers are yet to register a victory against the Men in Blues.
Will Bangladesh break the deadlock under their new leader Mahmudullah? The 33-year-old has lead Bangladesh before on five occasions. Let us have a flash-back on few close encounters between the two sides in T20 cricket.
1) Asia Cup Final (2016, Shere Bangla National Stadium)
It was Bangladesh’s second consecutive appearance in an Asia Cup final and the 2016 edition was the first to have a T20 format. Bangladesh being the hosts had the advantage of crowd support and also had expectations from fans to lift the Cup.
MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli shake hands as India win the Asia Cup finals by eight wickets | PTI
India led by MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl. The match was limited to 15 overs per innings due to rain. Mahmudullah (33*) and Sabbir Rahman (32*) took Bangladesh’s total to 120 for five after 15 overs.
India replied with Shikhar Dhawan’s 44-ball 60 with Virat Kohli playing the supporting role as he remained unbeaten on 41. MS Dhoni, the world class finisher, had a casual outing as he hammered Al-Amin 17 runs from four balls to crown India the champions for the sixth time.
2) Nidahas Trophy Final (2018, R Premadasa Stadium)
Rohit Sharma-led India in the Nidahas Trophy and faced Bangladesh in a thrilling T20 match where Bangladesh were asked to bat first. Sabbir Rahman’s 50-ball 77, which included seven fours and four sixes, helped Bangladesh post a competitive score of 166/8 post 20 overs.
Washington Sundar congratulates Dinesh Karthik after he hammered 29 runs off 8 balls to take India home by four wickets. | SLC
The match was going in Bangladesh’s favour till the 18th over where India had slumped to133 for five wickets with Dinesh Karthik walking in.
Karthik turned the game around with a blistering knock of 29 from 8 balls. His heroics included a six on the last ball with India needing 5 runs to win.
3) ICC T20 World Cup (2016, M Chinnaswamy Stadium)
India and Bangladesh played a thrilling match in the 2016 T20 World Cup. It was a nerve-wracking match with India pulling off a one-run victory.
MS Dhoni disslodges the bails to dismiss Mustafizur Rahman as India win a thriller by one run. | Youtube screen grab
It was a must-win game for India to keep their hopes alive to qualify for the semi-final stage. India posted a moderate total of 146 with Suresh Raina as the top-scorer (30). Bangladesh needed 11 runs off the final over with Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease. Rahim smashed back-to-back boundaries to bring down the requirement to 2 off 3 balls but then failed to clear the fences, leading to a dramatic finale.
