ICC T20 World Cup 2016: MS Dhoni plays Holi with fans ahead of Bangladesh clash
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni played Holi with some of his greatest fans in Bangalore on 22 March. Dhoni celebrated with Indian super fans Sudhir Gautam and Ram Babu, who were given access to the Indian team bus to meet the captain.
The India team is scheduled to play Bangladesh in an ICC T20 World Cup 2016 group stage match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on 23 March and India require winning the game by a big margin to make sure their net run rate can catch up with the other teams in the group after their 47-run defeat against New Zealand in the first match of the tournament.
In spite of heavy security arrangements, Dhoni allowed Sudhir, Ram, and some other young fans to put gulal powder on his forehead. Sudhir is an iconic fan of Sachin Tendulkar who travels with the Indian cricket team all over the world and cheers for the men in blue. Ram Babu is also a devoted fan of the Indian team and attends all major tournaments and series.
Sudhir is conspicuous by his appearance, his unorthodox style of support to Indian team has been captured several times on the lenses of cameramen across the globe. On Tuesday, he was draped in the tri-colours and met his favourite captain. After applying gulal on Dhoni’s forehead he also touched his feet. The entire country will celebrate Holi on Thursday.
Must win game for both the teams
The game against Bangladesh is a must win game for the Indian team to stay in the hunt for a semifinal berth from Group 2. New Zealand have already qualified after their 22-run win against Pakistan on Tuesday night.
India needs to put up a good performance against their neighbours and the 6 wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan will surely boost their confidence.
India recently defeated Bangladesh in the Asia Cup T20 final in Mirpur on 6 March. The Bangladesh team look depleted with two losses in their last two matches in World T20 and they are almost out of the tournament. Bangladeshi pacer Taskin Ahmed and spinner Arafat Sunny are suspended for a faulty bowling action and with star opener Tamim Iqbal unwell this will be a tough ask for them. A defeat will surely knock them out of the tournament.