Nidahas Trophy 2018, Match 5, BAN vs IND - Match Predictions

India will face off against Bangladesh in the match 5 of the ongoing Nidahas Trophy on Wednesday to seal their place in the title clash. They cruised past the hosts the other night and it was yet another clinical performance from the Men in Blue after losing the tournament opener. Bangladesh too will be riding high on confidence after chasing the highest total in their T20I history. However, both the teams are set to get involved in yet another mouthwatering clash.

Rohit Sharma led side looks far more settled as their victories so far in the series are convincing and most importantly different players have put their hands up every time. Tigers, however, will hope to carry the momentum they gained in the last match when the senior players Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim clicked together. Also, Sri Lanka would be watching the game closely and they would ideally want India to win the match as the final league game will virtually become the semi-final then.

Probable nature of the pitch

The surface at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo has dished out batting strips so far and we might witness yet another high-scoring thriller. Also, the weather is once again expected to play its part during the game with a lot of chances rain. So far no game has been abandoned as the rain gods abate at the right time. Even the game between India and Sri Lanka started 80 minutes late and it was a shortened game. It should not be a surprise if this game is also shortened.

Playing Combination

Bangladesh

The team management would not be thinking to tinker much with the winning combination yet. But the bowlers have to give a better account of themselves on a flat pitch as they look out of ideas more often than not. It is not possible for the batsmen to chase down a score in excess of 200 every time. Though the likes of Tamim, Liton Das and Mushfiqur are in great nick and they would love for the bowlers like Mustafizur Rahman to step up to the task against the Men in Blue.

Probable XI: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah (c), Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Nazmul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain

India

The Indian team management will be itching to experiment with few players who are on the bench but the format of the tournament is such that they can’t afford one more loss. The inclusion of KL Rahul didn’t reap great rewards the other night but he looked at ease during his brief stay at the crease and they are expected to go unchanged for this encounter. Shardul Thakur has comeback exceptionally ever since going for 27 runs in one over against Sri Lanka last week.

Jaydev Unadkat though has struggled at times but he deserves more opportunities and is unlikely to be dropped. Washington Sundar has grown in stature with every game and hasn’t conceded more than 7 runs per over in any of the three games so far. The skipper Rohit Sharma’s form would be the only worry for the team and he would love to play a blazing knock against Bangladesh.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Vijay Shankar, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal

Here is what CricTracker predicts for the game:

Probable Top Performers

Liton Das (Bangladesh) | Washington Sundar (India)

Head to Head

Total matches played – 6, India won –6, Sri Lanka won – 0, No Result/ Tied – 0.

Match Timings: 7:00 PM IST

Broadcast Details

TV – D Sport

Online Streaming: Yupp TV

The prediction is for India to win the game and earn a crucial two points in the series.