The defending champions have been upset by Afghanistan. Australia have not regarded like Australia of World Cups previous. Pakistan appear missing too. And the South African juggernaut fell aside in opposition to the Netherlands. Of all of the pre-tournament favourites, solely India have performed like favourites and they're gunning for his or her fourth win, in opposition to Bangladesh in Pune.
The hosts have performed with loads of main-character power of their first three fixtures, scoring convincing victories in opposition to Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. They have been examined to various levels in all these video games - diminished to three for two within the chase in opposition to Australia; Afghanistan setting a goal of 273; and Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan constructing a strong platform - however in the long run it wasn't even shut.
This Bangladesh squad has sufficient expertise and younger expertise of their ranks to stretch India, however their present kind is not promising. Mushfiqur has scored two fifties in three matches up to now however the remainder have struggled with consistency. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Litton Das had one good knock every. Rookie Tanzid Hasan hasn't had a lot affect. Towhid Hridoy, who scored 500 runs earlier than the World Cup this yr, is batting decrease than his standard No. 5 place. Mehidy Hasan Miraz additionally hasn't been efficient.
Whether Bangladesh runs India shut or not may come right down to how their quick bowlers fare. Mustafizur Rahman apart, the others have been off-colour. Shoriful Islam has been costly at instances and Taskin Ahmed shouldn't be the pressure he was earlier this yr. If these three, or Hasan Mahmud and Tanzim Hasan, can fireplace it'll give Bangladesh a stronger foothold within the contest.
Kuldeep Yadav took eight wickets in a Test the final time he performed Bangladesh•AFP/Getty Images
India WWWLW (final 5 ODIs, most up-to-date first)
Bangladesh LLWLL
India are unlikely to vary their profitable mixture. The small floor dimensions and flat pitch may imply that Shardul Thakur is more likely to maintain his spot forward of R Ashwin.
India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mohammed Siraj
If Bangladesh can play Shakib, they may. They might be tempted to advertise Mehidy Hasan Miraz to open with Litton and Mushfiqur may additionally bat greater within the order. The query is whether or not Bangladesh will look to strengthen their bowling by sacrificing some batting depth.
Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Litton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Mahmudullah, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Since 2017, groups batting first have posted 300-plus totals in three out of 5 ODIs in Pune, although this would be the first worldwide at this venue in 9 months. There was some drizzle on the eve of the match however the forecast is for sunshine on match day.
"He had a good batting session yesterday. He did a bit of running between the wickets as well. We are waiting for the result of the scan we did today. We haven't tried his bowling yet. We will assess him tomorrow morning, and make a decision. If he is not ready to play, we won't risk it. If he is ready, there's a chance of him playing tomorrow."Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe on Shakib Al Hasan's availability standing
"When you enter a World Cup, every team will pose you a challenge. So, from our perspective, I don't think we'll take anyone lightly."India's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey on Bangladesh
The preview was up to date after the Bangladesh pre-match press convention.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
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