Can Bangladesh bid Mahmudullah farewell with a win?
Written by I Dig Sports
Big picture: Bangladesh's last chance to salvage pride
After winning the Test series 2-0, India will be keen to stretch their dominance against Bangladesh to the absolute by carrying their T20I form from Gwalior and Delhi into Hyderabad, in the third T20I. It is the final match of a tour where Bangladesh have batted woefully, and bowled well only in certain periods. That was not good enough as India displayed their heightened T20 skills.
In the second T20I, the home side posted their highest total against Bangladesh even after losing three wickets in the powerplay. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh added 108 for the fourth wicket before Hardik Pandya and Riyan Parag struck meaty blows at the death. A target of 222 was overbearing on the visitors who could manage only 135 for 9. India now have the option to test the rest of the squad after going unchanged in the first two games.
The only solace for Bangladesh in the series so far has been that their seamers have performed satisfactorily. Taskin Ahmed took 2 for 16 in Delhi while Mustafizur Rahman was wily as usual and Tanzim Hasan Sakib showed his growing skills. The spinners, though, couldn't find their right lengths and let them down.
Bangladesh's top order, too, hasn't given them the best of starts. Litton Das and newcomer Parvez Hossain Emon went too hard at the bowling without the desired results, while captain Najmul Hossain Shanto looked good in patches before caving in quickly. Top order and spinners must get their act together for the visitors to have one last chance to at least threaten the hosts on this tour.
Form guide
India WWWWW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLLLL
In the spotlight: Nitish Kumar Reddy and Mahmudullah
Team news: India to test bench strength?
Ravi Bishnoi, Tilak Verma, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana warmed the bench in the first two T20Is but could get a run in Hyderabad, especially with the series already decided.
India (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Riyan Parag, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Varun Chakravarthy/Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mayank Yadav/Harshit Rana
Bangladesh may bring in Mahedi Hasan in place of Jaker Ali.
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Parvez Hossain Emon, 2 Litton Das (wk), 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Pitch and conditions: Rain could interrupt play
In IPL 2024, the three sides who made 200-plus batting first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium won the game. However, there's a forecast of rain in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Stats and trivia: India extends home domination
- India stretched their unbeaten run in the bilateral T20I series at home to 16 after beating Bangladesh by 86 runs in Delhi. In a streak that goes back to September 2019, they have won 14 series and drawn two.
- In IPL 2024, Abhishek Sharma struck 284 runs, including three fifties, at a strike rate of 249.12 in Hyderabad.
- In Delhi, India used seven bowlers and each took at least one wicket, making it the first such instance in T20Is.
- Bangladesh's spinners conceded 14.75 runs per over in Delhi, their most expensive collective performance in a T20I when they bowled a minimum of five overs.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
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