India Cricket

The third and final one-day international between India and Bangladesh was declared as a no-result after inclement weather in Dhaka.

The tourists had made 119-9 in 34.2 overs, in a match already reduced from 50 to 40 overs, before the game was abandoned due to rain.

India won the series 2-0 after a seven-wicket victory in Sunday’s opening match before triumphing by 47 runs in a low-scoring affair on Tuesday.

The visitors were 13-2 after 8.3 overs when rain fell for the first time at the Shere Bangla National Stadium and had stuttered to 35-4 from 13.3 when the heavens opened again.

Cheteshwar Pujara (27), captain Suresh Raina (25) and Stuart Binny (25 not out) took India into three figures, despite 3-27 by Shakib Al Hasan, but it all proved to be futile.

Raina was happy with his side’s performance, according to ESPN Cricinfo, which reported his reaction from the awards ceremony.

Very happy with the side, especially Stuart Binny, who bowled really well alongside Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav. When we came here for Asia Cup, Taskin used to bowl to us in the nets, so really happy to see him do well. We played good cricket, especially when you know World Cup is coming up, a lot of youngsters showed their character.

Binny was named man of the series after his incredible figures of 6-4 in the second match. He said the following, per ESPN Cricinfo:

I must thank my team and Suresh for giving me this opportunity, and I took it. Wicket wasn't too good to bat on, but we came here as a young side and proved ourselves. I wanted us to get around 140 on the board so we could compete.

India beat Bangladesh by 47 runs in a low-scoring, one-day international in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The tourists made just 105 in a match reduced to 41 overs after a two-and-a-half hour rain break.

However the Tigers could only muster 58 in their reply at the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Teenage Bangladesh debutant Taskin Ahmed had a sensational start to his ODI career as he went 5-28.

India were bundled out in 25.3 overs, with captain Suresh Raina top-scoring with 27.

It was India’s lowest score against their opponents, and Bangladesh would have been confident at that stage, levelling the series after a seven-wicket defeat in the opener on Sunday, but Mohit Sharma removed both openers and finished with a figure of 4-22.

However, he was upstaged by Stuart Binny, who took an incredible 6-4 in 4.4 overs as Bangladesh were bundled out in 17.4 overs.

Mithun Ali made 26, but his side were unable to save the series in a match where the run total was the lowest in history when all 20 wickets fell.

The three-match series comes to a conclusion on Thursday at the same venue.

Prior to the start of this series, all the talk was about the selection of the Indian squad: not the one that was picked to travel to Bangladesh for three one-day internationals, but the one that would embark on a long five-Test tour of England in the summer.

India had picked an 18-man squad for their first five-Test tour since 2002, and it had its share of hits and misses. The one point that raised the highest amount of chatter was the exclusion of arguably India's fastest bowler, Umesh Yadav.

Experts were stunned, as reported by Scroll.in, as to how a bowler of Yadav's repertoire had been left out of a squad that includes as many as seven bowlers who are not spinners. Given India's restraints in unearthing talented and genuinely quick bowlers, the debate was whether the selectors had erred by leaving him out.

Yadav has had his share of injury problems in the past and has even been guilty of struggling to maintain his consistency, but he was looking good over the last few months and had done reasonably well (11 wickets in 12 matches) in the Indian Premier League on tracks tailor-made for batting.

However, Yadav was in the touring party for the Bangladesh series, along with 14 others who had been given a chance to prove their credentials ahead of the World Cup next year. This was his chance to step up and send a clear message to the selectors that he should be on that plane to England.

For the first ODI against Bangladesh on Sunday, India went in with five bowlers—two quicks, Yadav and Mohit Sharma, and three spinners in Amit Mishra and the debutants Parvez Rasool and Akshar Patel.

Being asked to bowl first on a slow and low track, Indian skipper Suresh Raina gave the new balls to Sharma and Yadav, who still managed to keep the Bangladeshi batsmen on their toes.

While Sharma was his usual incorrigibly accurate self, bowling good length in a line just outside off-stump in the 130s, Yadav cranked up the pace past the 140s and even found some nice away movement from the right-hander.

In Yadav's second over, he received a bit of luck as the umpire erroneously adjudged the struggling Tamim Iqbal caught-behind when replays showed his bat had grazed his pad and not the ball.

Meanwhile, the sweltering heat in Dhaka seemed to have taken a toll on Sharma, as he hobbled off to the pavilion after bowling just four deliveries of his fourth over. He came back to bowl a couple more overs but couldn't continue—he limped off again, seemingly suffering from cramps.

However, Yadav carried on and found Anamul Haque's thick edge in his fourth over but was spilled by Raina at slip. Yadav didn't have to wait long to get his second wicket. In his very next over, Mominul Haque played a loose and uneasy drive that only found a faint edge through to the wicketkeeper.

Yadav's first spell read 5-0-16-2. Are you watching, selectors?

As Yadav was given a breather, Bangladesh got their act together in the middle overs as they took on the Indian spinners on an unresponsive pitch. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim led the charge (59 off 63 balls) and was well-supported by the ever-reliable Shakib Al Hasan (52 off 58 balls), Anamul (44 off 60) and Mahmudullah Riyad (41 off 44 balls). By the time Yadav returned for his second spell, the hosts had recovered from their early stutter to post 165 for four in 36 overs.

Yadav was expected to keep up his pace and consistency in line and length from his first spell but faltered in the latter to the hosts' advantage. He began drifting wide down either side and gifted a few extras and a boundary in his second spell, which lasted two overs after the second drinks break.

Coming back in the death overs for a third spell, Yadav looked like he was running a marathon in the Sahara. The tall and muscular bowler surprisingly huffed and puffed in the afternoon heat and had lost all his rhythm from his opening spell. Mahmudullah and Shakib worked Yadav's woes to their advantage as they provided a much-needed boost to Bangladesh's run-rate.

Yadav's last three overs yielded 25 runs, with his ninth and last one giving away 14, as Bangladesh set India a 273-run target. At one stage, it looked highly unlikely that they would touch 250.

The Indian bowlers' generosity did not affect the result of the game as their weakened, but nevertheless strong batting line-up got them to their revised Duckworth-Lewis target with ease, but for a few nervy overs in the end.

However, apart from Sharma, who bowled just 5.4 overs, there wasn't anyone who particularly impressed, bar for Yadav's first spell. That being said, given the nature of the pitch, which was in no way a bowling paradise for quicks or spinners alike, not many would've expected any better. But could the Indian fast bowlers have done a little better to prepare themselves for the heat?

Raina, expectedly, took his bowlers' side in the post-match chat, as reported by ESPNcricinfo:

"It was very tough for the bowlers in these conditions. Both fast bowlers were cramping up. The toughest conditions we have bowled in, in terms of the heat."

The collapse of the Indian quicks comes as a surprise given the conditions are not too different across the border at home. Regardless, in today's technologically advanced times, with the best of training and conditioning facilities available, should the Indian fans have expected better?

While Sharma is just about beginning his international career and could just be excused for lack of preparedness, Yadav has been around for quite some time now and has a genuine chance to prove why he should have been part of the squad to England.

The conditions in the UK will be nowhere near what the Indians are experiencing in Bangladesh, but as an international fast bowler you're expected to bowl 10 overs to the best of your abilities come rain, hail or sunshine.

Yadav is India's most experienced bowler on the tour, and the younger crop would turn to him for advice. He's expected to be the leader of the attack and has got another couple of games to set things straight.

Bangladesh will be hoping to start the series brightly and end a run of seven straight defeats in 2014, which includes their miserable Asia Cup performance, while an under-strength India, led by Suresh Raina, will have plenty of youngsters looking to make a name for themselves ahead of next year's World Cup.

Venue: Dhaka

Date: Sunday, June 15

Time: 8 a.m. BST/7 a.m. GMT

Live on: Ghazi TV, BTV, Channel 9: (Bangladesh), Star Cricket, Super Sports, Star Sport: (India, Pakistan), Ten Sports: (Pakistan, UAE & Other Asian Countries), PTV Sports: (Pakistan) and Sky Highlights: (Australia, England, South Africa & other European Countries)

Weather: According to the Weather Channel there will be thunderstorms overnight in Dhaka, but these will clear by the 11 a.m. local start time, by which point it will be cloudy and humid with temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius. There will be spots of sunshine from around 2 p.m., with temperatures rising to 34 degrees Celsius.

Overview

Like England before them, India are using their trip to Bangladesh as a chance to rest senior players and give experience to a potential future captain, a decision that has caused some debate following stinging criticism meted out the young Tigers' skipper Mushfiqur Rahim.

Suresh Raina leads a squad shorn of regular skipper MS Dhoni and leading batsman Virat Kohli as well as Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami. In their place, a number of young Indians will look to make their mark, with many earning their spot on the back of impressive IPL performances. Their inclusion has helped to instill some excitement and intrigue into a series that might otherwise have been a foregone conclusion from an Indian perspective.

India's squad for the Bangladesh tour sounds exciting! Suresh Raina (C), Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 29, 2014

IPL Orange Cap winner Robin Uthappa is the least surprising call-up and will hope to take his remarkable consistency into the longer limited overs format, while Wriddhiman Saha is preferred to Dhoni's usual deputy Dinesh Karthik and comes into the side fresh from smashing the first ever ton in an IPL Final.

Mohit Sharma and Akshar Patel also impressed for Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab respectively—the former taking the Purple Cap with 23 wickets and the latter not far behind with 17.

For Bangladesh, the weakened India side represents a chance to put things right after a rotten run of seven consecutive defeats in 2014. This run includes defeat to Afghanistan in a winless Asia Cup campaign and has placed captain Mushfiqur Rahim under pressure, despite his own good form with the bat.

Last year looked like it could have been something of a watershed for Bangladesh after a drawn Test series with New Zealand was followed by a convincing 3-0 whitewash in the ODIs, but 2014 has shown that to be a false dawn.

Runs have not been the main problem, with decent first innings totals of 279/7 and 326/3 posted against India and Pakistan respectively in the Asia Cup, but they were unable to defend either. Rahim, Monimul Haque and Anamul Haque have all been relatively consistent, contributing six 50s and two centuries in defeat between them and many more scores in the 40s this year.

Bangladesh will hope that the recent acquisition of Heath Streak as bowling coach can bring similar success and consistency to the bowling ranks. All eyes will be on the usually ineffective pace department, which features the improving Al-Amin Hossain, who is recalled to the ODI side after impressing in patches during the World T20, and tall, young and quick Taskin Ahmed.

Ahmed burst on to the scene in Bangladesh with four wickets in three balls as a 17-year-old playing in the Bangladesh Premier League last year, and under the tutelage of Zimbabwe legend Streak, he will hope to make eye-catching progress in his maiden ODI series.

@Mumtaheen @BCBtigers Yep.. I wish him luck. Taskin Ahmed is the best bet. Two years ago he bowled for me at DG net practice. #prospect

— Ian Pont (@Ponty100mph) June 3, 2014

Key Players

Bangladesh

Fresh from contributing to the Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL victory, Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh's one truly world-class player, boasting over 3,500 runs and 150 wickets in his 133 ODIs to date. Offering control and guile with the ball and a calculated brand of aggression with the bat, Shakib can help keep things tight as well as fire a run chase when needed.

India

With such an inexperienced side, Suresh Raina has a huge role to play beyond his potentially explosive batting, but he will be looking to Robin Uthappa to continue where he left off in the IPL and lay the platform that could give younger and less experienced talents the freedom to flourish.

Squads

Bangladesh

Mushfiqur Rahim (captain/wicketkeeper), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mithun Ali, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Sohag Gazi, Ziaur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed. 

India

Suresh Raina (captain), Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Stuart Binny, Mohit Sharma and Amit Mishra.

All stats via ESPN Cricinfo unless otherwise mentioned.

The Indian cricket team heads to Dhaka later this week to play three one-day internationals against Bangladesh, ahead of their much-longer tour of England in the summer.

The tour dates were announced last month, per ESPNcricinfo, during the Indian Premier League and were slotted in the 25-day gap between the Twenty20 league and India's upcoming 73-day-long tour of England, which includes five Tests, five ODIs, a one-off Twenty20 International and three practice games.

The tour, which was part of the original International Cricket Council Future Tours Programme, was agreed upon only in April after the Bangladesh Cricket Board signed on the dotted line to secure four series against India during the ICC executive board meeting.

On expected lines, the Indians announced a second-string side for the Bangladesh series, giving a rest to regulars such as captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami Ahmed.

The 15-man squad would be led by 27-year-old Suresh Raina, whose last ODI was against New Zealand in January this year before he was dropped for the Asia Cup. Only four members of the squad that will tour Bangladesh have tickets to England: Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny and Wriddhiman Saha.

The weakened squad drew some flak from Bangladeshi skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, who said that he did not expect India to take the series "so lightly." He recently told reporters in Mirpur, as reported by ESPNcricinfo:

We have a chance to give a reply on the field. There is extra motivation. They haven't invited us yet so if we do well in this series, it sends a message.

We have defeated their best team in the past. They have a young team, and despite the standard of the IPL, international cricket is a more difficult stage. And one should not forget that if they lose, India will lose, not India A. The pressure will be on them.

Saying so, Mushfiqur has knocked the ball into the court of the Indians and thrown open the challenge. However, while it is understandable that Bangladesh would have wanted to play against a full-strength Indian side, considering the chock-a-block calendar of the A-list Indian players, it was very much an expected and practical call.

However, could we go so far as to say that the Indians, ranked No. 3 in the world in ODIs, have disrespected or belittled the ninth-ranked Bangladesh by naming this seemingly weak squad? Not quite.

The Tigers would be wise not to consider this team incapable of putting up a fight, in spite of the absence of big names.

While naming this 15-man squad, the Indian selectors have given a chance to players who have performed well in the domestic circuit, including the IPL.

Apart from Raina, Robin Uthappa—the 2014 IPL's leading run-scorer (660 runs in 16 matches—makes a return to the Indian side after more than two years.

Kedar Jadhav, who was the highest run-scorer (1223 runs in 11 matches) in the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy—India's premier first-class tournament—also finds a place. So does the IPL's leading wicket-taker Mohit Sharma (23 wickets in 16 matches) and left-arm spinner Akshar Patel, who won the emerging player-of-the-season award after taking 17 wickets in as many games.

All 15 members of the Indian squad would be looking at this series with just one motive: to impress the selectors and seal a permanent spot in the national team. Their determination and resolve to do well could just come back and bite Bangladesh if they take the visitors lightly.

Looking at this squad, a probable starting XI for the first game on Sunday would read this way:

Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina (c), Kedar Jadhav, Stuart Binny, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Akshar Patel, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma.

That isn't a very weak-looking side by any means.

Full squad:

Suresh Raina (c), Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Wriddhiman Saha, Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Stuart Binny, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra.

Robin Uthappa finished as this year's leading run scorer in the Indian Premier League.

With 660 runs at an average of 44.00, including five fifties, he was instrumental in KKR's batting line-up. Uthappa also registered 10 consecutive scores of 40 or more; he has also earned himself a recall to the Indian national team.

But it has not been an easy journey to here. Uthappa has had to adjust the way he bats. He has converted from being a player with a bottom-handed grip to a top-handed one, a process that has been two years in the making.

After leaving Bangalore for Mumbai, he met up with Pravin Amre, the man who would become his personal batting coach.

Since Uthappa had played a certain way for 10 years, it was a case of starting completely from scratch. It was a case of "how badly do you want this" for Uthappa. He had to learn to walk all over again. It was tough, but most importantly, he was willing to do it.

In an interview with FirstPost, Amre said:

I really didn't do anything. He moved to Mumbai, he worked hard for two years, it was no overnight success story, he worked hard every day without breaks, he was completely open to my suggestions and he just wanted to be back.

So this was all about Uthappa and his desire to get back to his best. Many players talk about doing the right thing but when they crash, they find it hard to re-dedicate themselves. He has done that.

That change in grip allowed Uthappa to drive better through the covers and down the ground. His knocks in this year's IPL, although often destructive, have been well composed and consisted of many classy shots.

His coach also helped him change his trigger movement. While initially susceptible to getting bowled because he got so far back in his crease, his coach encouraged him to come forward and be more balanced doing so.

Although he had to start from scratch to transform his approach, Uthappa has also had a few things added on. While he previously favoured the midwicket area, he is now more capable of playing shots all around the ground.

Prior to the IPL, the pair went on a 15-day camp to add the final tweaks to the 26-year-old's game. That hard work has now paid off. Not only does he have a winners' medal, he also has the Orange Cap.

Equally important to Uthappa's game is that he understands the importance of rotating the strike. He is as happy to take singles as he is hitting stylish fours.

Slogging sixes is not really part of his arsenal. He hit just 18 sixes in total in the tournament but was more than happy to hammer the fours—hitting 74 in total, more than any other batsman in the top run-scorers list. 

While he still has much to prove, Uthappa has shown that he has the willingness to learn and progress. He spends at least three hours a day practising.

Although he might not be as naturally gifted as some other players, with his work ethic Uthappa should undergo a renaissance of his career if he keeps it up.

The Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab lock horns in the final of the 2014 IPL in what is set to be a gripping climax to the campaign on Sunday.

This year’s tournament has thrown up some intriguing numbers, as the batsmen and bowlers strive to give their side the edge in the limited overs format. And as you might expect, these two teams sit top of the statistical charts in many of the categories.

So ahead of the final, here’s a statistical breakdown of both teams, seeing how they compare ahead of the showpiece. We’ll also run the rule over each of the team's star men with both bat and ball.

Team Comparison

Kings XI Punjab have been far and away the most impressive batting team in the competition, accumulating totals in excess of 200 on four separate occasions. Their ability to hit boundaries is emphasised by the enormous amount of sixes they’ve struck in the tournament so far.

The Knight Riders haven’t been quite as dynamic with the bat, with their biggest total 195/4 against the Banglore Royal Challengers. While their final opponents have a host of match-winners in Glenn Maxwell, Virender Sehwag, David Miller and George Bailey, the Kolkata outfit rely mainly on solid if not spectacular batting efforts.

The same applies to the bowling categories too. Punjab are packed with strike bowlers who take wickets and can occasionally be a little erratic. Kolkata, by contrast, lean mainly on reliable bowlers who take wickets by building up pressure with economical bowling.

Top Batsman Comparison

Maxwell was outstanding in the early stages of the tournament and was looking likely to break all kinds of records with his phenomenal displays. But his form has tailed off significantly in the latter stages of the competition, meaning he’s been surpassed in the race for the orange cap by Kolkata’s Robin Uthappa.

Given Maxwell's early scoring for Kings XI, it seemed an unfathomable prospect at one point, as noted here by ESPNcricinfo:

Uthappa has been wonderfully consistent in the IPL. It can be so easy to lose your wicket cheaply in this frenetic format, but he’s gone past 40 in his last 10 consecutive knocks. An unprecedented effort, as noted here by Opta Jim:

While Uthappa has been metronomic in his scoring, he’s not really a destructive force in the mould of Maxwell. Sure, the Indian will give you a strong platform to start from, but if the Aussie can rediscover his sparkling best, he’s a player who could drag Punjab over the line.

Top Bowler Comparison

Such is Sunil Narine’s commitment to the Kolkata cause, he decided to stick with the team for this final instead of going jetting off to join up with the West Indies squad, per ESPNcricinfo.com.

And you can bet his teammates will be delighted with that news, for Narine has been one of the standout bowlers in the tournament. He can pick up the coveted purple cap—awarded to the leading wicket-taker in the competition—if he bags himself three wickets. Given the precision he’s bowled with throughout the course of this tournament, you certainly wouldn’t put it past him.

Starring for the opposition with the ball has been Akshar Patel. He too has been extremely tight with his lines and lengths, as illustrated here by Punjab’s official Twitter account:

Just 20 years old, Patel has been hugely impressive with his slow left-arm bowling. His ability to vary his line and length makes him very difficult to score off, and he’ll be tasked with keeping a lid on the scoring of Uthappa and his fellow opener, Gautam Gambhir.

Verdict

While it was Kolkata that came out on top when these two teams met recently, in matches of this magnitude, you always look to the team with the most match-winners. Ahead of this one, it’s undoubtedly Kings XI Punjab.

You can bet Uthappa and Gambhir will get the Knight Riders off to a solid start, but Kings XI bat much deeper and are much more capable of assembling or chasing down a huge total.