Champions Trophy 2017 Semi-Final 2: India Take On Tricky Bangladesh
Highlights:
- India take on Bangladesh in the second semi- final at Edgbaston
- India and Bangladesh play each other for the first time in the Champions Trophy
- The match will be played on Thursday 15 June at 3 pm IST
Defending champions take on fellow Asian team Bangladesh in the second semi-final of the Champions Trophy.Coming off the back of a strong performance against the mighty South Africans; India will be looking to repeat that performance against the Bangladesh team to make it through to the final for the second year in a row. India though is seeing Bangladesh as a potential banana skin as they are known as a tricky side who have often thrown up big surprises with their performances against big teams.
India sweated it out on a sunny morning at Edgbaston on Wednesday, showing the intensity that a top team should be at the business end of a world tournament. Sunday’s eight-wicket win against South Africa at The Oval has put India in a good space and while the form book overwhelmingly favors India, Indian captain Virat Kohli is still cautious of the Bangladeshis. Speaking to the media after reclaiming the top spot in the ODI list of batsmen we said that the Indian team will treat this as their last match of the tournament as there are no guarantees at this stage. “There’s no looking back. There’s always room for improvement. We can’t rest on your laurels.” “Maybe because of how much limited-overs cricket we play, I think the players are getting more experienced in difficult situations,” he said.”Maybe some of the teams have really surprised the opposition with the way they have batted and bowled in certain situations.”
The Bangladesh team who are coming off a beautiful performance against the mighty New Zealand are quietly confident of causing an upset. Shakib Al Hasan (114) and Mahmudullah (102 not out) responded to the pressure of a dire position in a must-win game with a brilliant new Bangladesh record partnership of 224 that turned the match upside down and eventually saw New Zealand eliminated from the tournament. Captain Mashrafe Mortaza said that such performances will bolster the confidence of the team. “In the last three years we keep improving a lot,” he said. “This sort of performance really help us to move forward, especially with the 2019 World Cup (in England) coming up.”
The encounter will be an entertaining one as both teams will give it their all to make it to the final on Sunday against Pakistan who are already through.
India v Bangladesh One day International (ODIs) head to head:
Total: 32
India won: 26
Bangladesh won: 5
No result: 1
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