Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 22 (ANI): Ahead of India’s ICC T20 World Cup Super Eights game against Bangladesh, Former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara backed the opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to come good during the game, saying that Bangladesh would not be much of a threat and Men in Blue will be 100 for no loss during the game.
India will be taking on Bangladesh in their Super Eights clash at Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Saturday. India is in second place in Group 1 of Super Eights, with a win against Afghanistan and two points. Bangladesh is at the bottom place, having lost their game against Australia. This one is a crucial game for them to keep their Super Eights hopes alive while India will pretty much reach the semifinals with a win over Bangladesh.
The opening pair of Rohit and Virat has not fired so far in the tournament. While Rohit has scored just 76 runs in four innings including a fifty, Virat has been extremely underwhelming after a blockbuster Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, scoring just 29 runs in four innings, with 24 as his best score.
Speaking to Star Sports, Lara said that even though pacer Mustafizur Rahman is a great bowler and will threaten India, the experienced duo will be too much for Bangladesh.
“India is going to be 100 without loss in that match if they bat first, right? And even if they bat second, they are going to be 100 without loss. Of course, Fizz (Mustafizur) is an amazing bowler. He is going to come out and threaten but I just feel that India is just too much and that roller coaster and, you know, they just seem rolling every team at the moment and that’s how I think it is going to happen,” said Lara.
“India is very concerned about the opening partnership, and they are going to fix that against Bangladesh. I do not think that Bangladesh is going to be a threat,” he added.
Lara went on to praise the opening pair, saying that they are two of the best in T20Is and they are going to give India much-needed impetus during the knockout stages. He also pointed out that the ongoing tournament has not been dominated by batters and rather it is bowlers who have been at advantage.
“I think it is (Rohit-Virat pair) is going to give India that impetus that is needed going into the back end of the tournament of the semi-finals and the finals. So, this match, I think that those two great players, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are going to come to the fore,” said Lara.
“I think the Indian team expects a good opening partnership. Everything is falling into place. This World Cup is a World Cup where no team is very dominant because of the state of the pitches. But if India can solve the opening problem, and it is not a problem, it is the two best T20 players in the world, they are not going to run right now,” he concluded.
Squads:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal
Bangladesh Squad: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das(w), Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Jaker Ali, Tanvir Islam, Shoriful Islam, Soumya Sarkar. (ANI)
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