The unbeaten have been beaten as England bagged two important points to move further in their ICC Cricket World 2019 campaign with a 31-run win over India. Team England proved to be a tough opposition for India after they were handed their first defeat of World Cup 2019 at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, thus ending their winning run. This was the first time that England beat India in a World Cup game since 1992.
As the two-time World Cup champions lick their wounds from the loss, an encounter against Bangladesh awaits them at the same cricket ground. While India will look to analyse their situation and get back to winning ways, Bangladesh will face the Men in Blue with a desire to stay in contention for a World Cup 2019 semi-final spot.
As the Asian rivals lock horns on July 2, Tuesday, at Edgbaston, this is what the Indian team will need to look forward to in order to qualify for the semi-finals:
There's a reason why Shakib Al Hasan is the No.1 all-rounder in the ODI format currently. The southpaw from Bangladesh has hammered two centuries along with three fifties so far and has also picked up 10 wickets in the ongoing edition of the World Cup. His red-hot form has been a key factor for Bangladesh's success this year after they registered three wins, three defeats, and a draw.
His ability to play calm and long innings will pose a challenge for the Indian bowlers who will have to be consistent on the batsman-friendly Edgbaston pitch. However, there are chances that India might be able to dismiss him early with Jasprit Bumrah's bowling. Bumrah is known to be lethal against left-handed batsmen as his bowling action creates an angle which makes it difficult for the southpaws to score runs.
Alongside, while batting, Indian batsmen need to play Shakib carefully and read his action to understand which balls might spin. The majority of wickets that the left-arm spinner has bagged were taken after the batsmen tried to score big runs against him.
India's major conundrum has been the lack of middle-order's ability to strike runs after a good start put up by openers and top-order. It usually seems like they tend to play slow and eventually succumb to the pressure of their own slow innings as they throw their wickets away. In their match against England, the lack of ability to rotate strike resulted in the gradual rise of Required Run Rate(RRR) which eventually led to India's defeat.
So, if the Men in Blue intend to win against Bangladesh, they need to improve the standard of batting put up by the Indian batsmen so far. Instead of trying to go all guns out, they should look to play calmly and allow the set batsmen to hit the boundaries.
On the other hand, experienced batsmen should allow pinch-hitters like Rishabh Pant to take his time and explode when set. In his debut World Cup match, Pant displayed potential to make a big score and played a decent knock but soon succumbed to the pressure. However, it would be noteworthy to see if he gets another chance to showcase his talent.
With all-rounder Vijay Shankar being ruled out of World Cup 2019 due to injury, Mayank Agarwal has been named as his replacement. Therefore, it wouldn't be a surprise if Virat Kohli decides to bench KL Rahul and offer Mayank Agarwal his World Cup debut.
There has been no forecast of rain and thus, the fans can expect an uninterrupted game between the Asian sides. On the other hand, the pitch too does not show signs of spin and swing, which indicates that there is going to be a run-fest at Edgbaston, Birmingham on July 2.
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