Bengaluru: Bangladesh absolutely loves its cricket. Right from the full houses in Mirpur to an army of media here to attend the ICC World Twenty20, the Bangladeshis discover unbridled joy in the success of their team. But from the acme of reaching the Asia Cup final earlier this month, leaving behind Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the race, to here in India losing two games in row, the 'Tigers' find themselves at the exit door of a tournament they planned so hard for.
In the span of a fortnight, the Bangladesh team wears a distraught look - with two key players suspended and captain Mashrafe Mortaza unable to hold his emotions in front of the media. And when they lost a close battle to Australia to lose two in a row, the curtains came further down.
A third defeat against India here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will confirm a nightmare, which, it seems, they won't be able to avoid.
Against a team having one of world's best batsmen and spinners in their rank, raring to roar in the front of the home crowd, Bangladesh face as gigantic a task as there could be.
They haven't beaten India ever in a T20 international, with the head-to-head column reading 4-0. And with two of their key men sidelined by the ICC, the hopes of a comeback now resemble a flickering flame.
But Shakib Al Hasan was hopeful.
"Losing Taskin doesn't mean everything was over. We have more contributors in the team than before. I am not sure about the availability of Tamim Iqbal as I am not aware of his current condition, but the team is looking to do well against India," the veteran allrounder said.
Key Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed and spinner Arafat Sunny have been ruled as bowling with an illegal action, which led to their immediate suspension. Tamim Iqbal fell ill before the Australia game, taking the casualty count to three. Still Bangladesh fought hard before the Aussies won by three wickets. And next up for them is India, here on Wednesday.
Perhaps, their bodies too are giving in, playing incessantly since the Asia Cup that ended March 6, followed by the World T20 qualifiers from March 8. They came through the qualifying test, but when the tournament proper began with Super-10, the team broke down badly.
The return of Mustafizur Rahman was welcomed, and he took two Australia wickets as well. But India handled him pretty well in the Asia Cup, and bowling at the Virat Kohli-inspired batting in its backyard will make it much harder.
Kohli played one of his best limited-overs knock against Pakistan, picking the team from a nervous 23 for 3 to cross the ribbon in the must-win game at an electrifying Eden Gardens.
But there are concerns in Indian batting, with the openers and Suresh Raina not firing, and the India nets on Tuesday confirmed those concerns.
Ravi Shastri was focusing specifically on Shikhar Dhawan, asking a net bowler to throw underarm without bounce right at the batsman's head - checking how he reacted when tested by the short ball. That followed a session of full-length deliveries with the leather ball, with Dhawan frequently practicing the paddle to fine leg.
That, in a way, confirmed that the conjectures around the inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane will remain conjectures; and MS Dhoni, after throwing his weight behind Suresh Raina in the post-match press conference in Kolkata, will stick to the same combination.
There are also other things India have to address on the M Chinnaswamy track that is expected to be good for batting with also grip on offer for the spinners. India surely would not want another square turner like Nagpur, where they were upset by New Zealand, and then Kolkata.
Bangladesh are down, with their first-choice players not available. This is India's best chance to improve their poor net run-rate of (-0.895), which will come into play in Mohali against Australia.
After losing the Super-10 opener, every game has become a must-win for India to reach the semis - more so because of the margin of defeat (47 runs) against the Kiwis, which left a big dent on the home team's NRR (-0.895).
India are currently No. 4 on the table, equal on points (2) with Pakistan and Australia but behind both of them on NRR. But Nehra said the team is not looking that far and first want to bag a win here.
"We are aware of that, but before we worry about the net run-rate, we have to win. Everybody knows every game is important. That game [to address net run-rate] will come in Mohali against Australia, that's the fourth game. We are taking one game at a time," he said on Tuesday.
But Bangladesh had huge hopes attached to this tournament after a terrific limited-overs run at home. All of that now boils down to one game that will decide if their dream turns into a nightmare or lives on.
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