India Up For Bangladeshi Challenge?
Ever since the Indian Premier League season three ended the national team has been embroiled in one controversy after another and certainly it has taken its toll on the men in blue; who now have to gear-up for another difficult tournament against the Asian powerhouses.
There might be some relief for the Indian team that is easily the most followed team around the cricketing world, and has the biggest fan base on the globe as the football World Cup takes centre stage and even the most diehard cricket fans in the sub-continent might not be totally focused on the Asia Cup.
Not being the centre of attention is most certainly going to help the Indians iron out their weaknesses, and work on their fitness something that their South African coach Gary Kirsten has not minced words about.
Kirsten claimed that many players in the team were not too bothered about maintaining their fitness levels, and subsequently Yuvraj Singh was shown the door after a dismal T20 World Cup where he failed to provide any substantial performance with the bat or the ball.
Things only got worse for the new makeover Indian team that went to Zimbabwe to take part in three nation tournament, the men in blue were soundly beaten by the hosts twice before crashing out of the tournament with another humiliating defeat at the hands of eventual champions Sri Lanka.
Suresh Raina who captained the team in Zimbabwe lacked the spark as a captain, and failed to do much with the bat either. Rohit Sharma however, was the star performer scoring two consecutive hundreds and the swashbuckling right-hander would be expected to shore-up the Indian middle order in the absence of Yuvraj Singh.
The team for the Asia cup does not include the most successful batsman of the modern generation Sachin Tendulkar who opted out of the tournament, claiming that he wanted to spend some time with his family ahead of a busy international season.
On the other hand the Indian squad has been bolstered by the return of the Delhi Daredevil Virender Sehwag who missed out on the tour of Zimbabwe and the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean due to an injury.
Sehwag would be batting at his familiar slot at the top of the innings where he has formed a highly successful partnership with his Delhi team-mate Gautam Gambhir.
Also retuning to the Indian fold is the experienced bowling trio of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Harbhjan Singh.The three would give India the bite in their attack that looked pedestrian in Zimabawe.
The men in blue who have won the continental tournament four times, have also included Saurabh Tiwary, the Mumbai Indians left-hander who played a vital role in taking his team to the final of the IPL in April.
Meanwhile the Bangladeshi tigers would be aiming to upset one of the three regional powers in the Asia Cup, as they take on India in their opening match today.
The young Bangladeshi side has given some impressive performances in 50 overs cricket recently, yet have failed to gel in a string of solid performances on a consistent basis.
Despite an abundance of talent in batting and spin bowling department the tigers still lack the teeth, to scar the opposition.
Under the leadership of Shakib-Ul-Hasan the tigers would have to start winning soon as the die-hard cricket fans in the country are losing patience with their team, and their consistent run of defeats at the international level.
The match against India would be played in Dambulla, and the wicket showed signs of breaking up in the opening encounter that the Lankans won narrowly.
The slowness of the wicket which makes batting a tough proposition should encourage the Bangladeshi spinners, yet it remains to be seen if they have the class to choke the powerful Indian batting line-up.
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