Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni urged his batsmen to improve their strike-rate ahead of Wednesday’s clash against Bangladesh to face the prospect of a humiliating early exit from the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 on home soil. The hosts are currently placed in the fourth spot of Group 2 after one loss and one win in two matches. The Indian team desperately needs a big win to reestablish their bid for a semi-final spot.
The 6 wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan will surely boost India’s confidence after a shock 47-run defeat against New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament. India were clubbed into a tough group with the likes of Australia in it and Indian captain believes that they need to improve the quality of their performance in order to progress.
There is still scope for improvement – Dhoni
Dhoni, who always gave emphasis on improvement in any situation, said, "I still feel there is still scope for improvement and in the coming two games that will be our priority,"
The Kiwis currently are positioned on top of the group with four points from two wins while Pakistan, Australia, and India all have two points. However, India's run rate, which could determine who qualifies, is considerably worse than their rivals.
The Indian top-order hasn’t fired yet in the tournament and it was Virat Kohli’s master class which rescued India from a serious situation against Pakistan. The star-studded Indian batting line-up needs to perform better than their recent shows.
Dhoni was clear about his thoughts on net run rate as it is necessary to have a good net run rate in the Group stages of the tournament and said, "In the first game our run rate went down. So it's not only about winning but you have to take care of the run-rate at some point,"
The Indian team is seeking to become the first nation to win the World T20 title twice, after clinching the inaugural crown in 2007, and also the first to win at home like they did it with the World Cup in 2011.
We will keep fighting – Mortaza
Bangladesh is sitting at the bottom of the group 2 after two consecutive losses against Pakistan and Australia and have almost no chances of advancing to the semi-finals but their captain Mashrafe Mortaza vowed to battle on hard. He said, "We will keep fighting. We still have two matches to fight hard,"
They were left reeling after the ICC's decision at the weekend to suspend their top bowlers Arafat Sunny and Taskin Ahmed for illegal actions, forcing them to rush in replacements from Bangladesh. There are also question marks over star opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, who is unwell and did not play against Australia.
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