Bangladesh conclude their tour of India on Saturday when the two sides finish up with the third T20 of the scheduled three, one which will give the two sides one more chance to show their credentials in this format of the game.
In terms of competitiveness, there was never anything too significant riding on this series but the fact that India have already won it this match is about as dead a dead rubber as we are going to get in the T20 sphere.
India
India might have picked what many described as a second string side for this series but that hasn’t played out in the performances so far. It is hard to think how they could have been any more dominant than they have been in both matches. I always think it is the sign of a team if they can win with plenty in hand whether they are batting first or bowling first. India have done that in the opening two games of this series so there is nothing to suggest they can’t complete a whitewash here.
India have been completely destructive with the bat. Even when Bangladesh started the bowling innings well in the second game the middle order had the confidence to bide their time and explode once the chances came their way so that is another tick in the box. There is a lot of batting depth in this India side which helps with that. The runs in the side allow the bowlers to do their thing without much pressure on them and the end result has been two thumping victories.
Bangladesh
When Bangladesh went into the series they would have expected to offer up something a lot more competitive than what they have offered. They went down in the Test series ahead of these T20 matches but they were competitive in periods of those matches but they haven’t offered anything in terms of a challenge in the two games so far and even though they are up against a second string side they just don’t look to be built for this format.
There is a distinct lack of power with the bat in this Bangladesh side. If you are going to be successful in this format in the modern day then you need a number of players who can clear the ropes at any opportunity and Bangladesh don’t have that. One thing they do have is three really good seamers who generally have the skills to tie batters down although sometimes they lack the consistency to get out of overs but they are having to perform so strongly to make up for the shortfall in terms of power with the bat and they have been found out in the first two games.
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Team News
With the series now won you would think that India will give an outing to those who haven’t yet had one which means that the likes of Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Harshit Rana and Ravi Bishnoi could all be included in the XI.
Bangladesh chose not to make wholesale changes after the first game but having suffered two heavy defeats it might be time for a few changes in personnel here. One man who is expected to play is Mahmudullah who retires after this game.
Betting
As you would imagine after the way the opening two games have played out, the lines for the runs and boundaries and everything else has shot up but there is no sign of any life in the Bangladesh batting so I wouldn’t want to be on the India lines because if Bangladesh bat first and mess it up then there isn’t going to be enough on the board for India to cover these inflated targets. When you throw in the threat of rain this isn’t an easy game to bet on.
Therefore I’m going to throw a dart out there and see if we hit the bullseye, which is quite apt when you consider that the bet I like is 50/1. It comes in Rishad Hossain to be the leading Bangladesh batter in the match. The Bangladesh top order hasn’t really functioned in this series and scores of 127 and 135 offer up the chance for a cameo to top score. In the previous game only Mahmudullah scored more than 16 while in the opening game only two players outscored a dozen. Hossain has scored 11 and nine so he hasn’t been far away from the second score but when these two sides met in the World Cup he belted 24 against a top notch India attack. A lot has to go his way but it isn’t like Bangladesh are in form with the bat so at 50/1 I’ll pay to see how the leggie goes with the bat.
Tips
Back R.Hossain Top Bangladesh Batter for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Boylesports
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