india: T20 World Cup: Looking to secure a semi-final berth, India face old foes Bangladesh in a crucial match

Bangladesh’s game has become very important for the Men in Blue today after India’s loss against South Africa. It is almost a virtual knockout with both the teams locked on four points after three matches. And rain threatens to spoil the game in Adelaide, with India having their backs against Bangladesh which have just won a close match against Zimbabwe.

India vs Bangladesh was, at least for a period, the new big cricket rivalry with a history of its own. After losing to Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup, India defeated Bangladesh in Dhaka in the opening match of the 2011 World Cup. The rivalry was played out again in Melbourne at the 2015 World Cup. Thanks to Rohit Sharma’s century, India won, but Bangladesh fans felt disappointed with umpire Aleem Dar, who called a waist-height full toss by Rubel Hossain, who dismissed Rohit for a no ball.

The wound had not healed when India toured Bangladesh months after the World Cup. Not only did the hosts win 3-0, media and fans were flooded with cartoons showing Bangladeshi Tigers pouncing on the Indians. Distasteful morphed pictures of the Bangladesh captain holding the severed head of Indian skipper MS Dhoni were doing the rounds. From a sociological point of view, rivalry was beginning to make deep inroads into the minds of the people.

The close matches saw India win the 2016 T20 World Cup event at home by a single run with rising intensity. This match is remembered for Dhoni’s brilliant run out. The wounds were deep. This was evident from Mushfiqur Rahim’s celebratory social media post after India’s loss to West Indies. Bangladesh came close again in Sri Lanka in March 2018, before a six off the last ball by Dinesh Karthik sealed their fortunes.

They had pushed India but could not shut things down. Bangladesh is probably the only team in the world at the moment that can match India thanks to the support of the fans. It was no surprise that Edgbaston was buzzing with slogans of ‘Joy Bangla’ during the 2017 Champions Trophy.

It came to an end with India winning easily but Bangladesh fans have another chance in Adelaide today. Though India have been in good form in the T20 format, everything that happens during the day is what happens. South Africa’s win against India will win the hearts of Bangladesh. India are a better unit despite the struggle of the openers on paper. And it will be a real question to deal with the quality of Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the inexperienced Bangladesh top order.

A virtual knockout, however, is not played with skill alone. It is equally played with that in mind and Bangladesh cannot be ruled out. “We are enjoying the respect we have earned over the years,” said former Bangladesh captain Aminul Islam Bulbul. “No one will call us small. Every team knows that we have the ability to beat them on our day. India knows we will be competitive and if you look at the history between India and Bangladesh, you know how tough some matches have been.

There is no arguing that if the weather is right it will be a real spectacle at the beautiful Adelaide Oval.

Originally published at Pen 18