India vs Bangladesh, 2nd T20I, Nidahas Trophy 2018: Statistical preview of the match
After conceding the first match of the Nidahas Trophy to hosts Sri Lanka, the Indian side will now look to regain some of the lost ground along with a smattering of self-pride against a depleted Bangladesh.
Despite being short on the batting and bowling prowess, the Indian side, led by Rohit Sharma looks a formidable unit on paper and against Bangladesh, which is bereft of its own clutch players, they are overwhelming favourites.
Apart from the players on show, the numbers, too, are not very favourable for Bangladesh.
This will be the sixth T20 between the two teams, with India having claimed victory in each of the previous five clashes.
As far as the venue is concerned, India has claimed victory in six of their eight outings at R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. However, the picture is bleak for their eastern neighbours who have tasted success in only a solitary match out of the two they have played.
It has been a rough patch for Bangladesh as far as the T20I format is concerned as they have won just one of their last thirteen matches overall.
If these numbers were not enough to force eyebrows to be furrowed in the Bangladesh camp, Indian openers have been galloping along in T20Is in the recent past.
Shikhar Dhawan hit a career-best 90 in defeat against Sri Lanka in the opening match, and as of the four T20I innings which he has played this year, he has already amassed 233 runs.
He is third on the list behind Martin Guptill(410 runs) and Colin Munro(396 runs).
And then there is a small matter of the Indian captain Rohit Sharma who is India's second highest run scorer in T20I history (1,679, behind Virat Kohli 1,983).
His record against Bangladesh is also pretty decent, but the Mumbaikar has been dismissed for a duck in two if his last three innings. Few drops of hope for Bangladesh in an otherwise parched terrain!
In the absence of Shakib, Mahmudullah is leading Bangladesh in this series, but his start as the leader has not been very positive. He has finished second in both the matches he walked out as the captain.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has had a dream start to his T20I captaincy tenure, as in the five matches he has skippered the side, the languid batsman has won four matches and his only defeat came against Sri Lanka the other day.
If we take a look at the overall statistics of the Indian and Bangladeshi players in this format since 2017, there is daylight in not only the quality, but also the numbers between the two sets.
Shaikb is the only bowler to have picked up more than five wickets since 2017 and unfortunately for Bangladesh, he is nursing an injury.
If it comes as a tepid solace for Bangladesh that Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are not a part of the Indian side.
However, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jaydev Unadkat are very much part of the scheme of things; there goes the solace!
Indian fans can afford to grin, albeit a nervous one, for their team has not lost two T20Is in a row since 2016. They have played 19 completed T20Is since then.
They lost the first match against Sri Lanka!
All the above statistics and numbers are courtesy of Opta