Opinion: India vs Bangladesh will be an even contest

India takes on Bangladesh in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup today at the Dubai International Stadium. There is hard evidence to suggest that this will be a more than even contest as the former World Champions can be stunned by an unpredictable Bangladeshi side.

Bangladesh's meteoric rise in the shorter format of the game means that India cannot afford to take them lightly. The former defeated a dispirited Sri Lanka but lost to the magnificent Afghans on their way to this Super Four clash.

India is riding high with their phenomenal victories over Hong Kong and Pakistan in the first stage of the tournament. Their batsmen got runs against the former while it was their bowlers who led the charge against the latter.

Dismissing their arch-rivals Pakistan for a meagre 162, India's bowlers were very impressive, especially the new-ball duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Kedar Jadhav also chipped in with a vital three-wicket haul which meant that Pakistan couldn't really get a good score on the board.

Bangladesh, however, were bundled out for a lowly 119 against the wily Afghans on Thursday. Their bowlers did a good job of getting their opponents at 160-7 in the 41st over but being unable to finish the tail off meant that they were left chasing 255. Rashid Khan's heroics with the bat cannot be neglected but the way Bangladesh bowled in the latter overs was shambolic.

You see this quite often in One-day cricket- a team gets the other on the ropes and starts to lower their guard and right then the other side launches a counter-attack. That is what happened to Bangladesh against Afghanistan.

The Bangla tigers will be smarting under defeat and yet come out of the game wiser.

India will prove to be difficult for Bangladesh to break down. Both their openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been in fine nick and so has been one-drop Ambati Rayudu. India bats deep and although Hardik Pandya has gone home due to injury, they can rely on some late-order flourishes from Kedar Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

India's bowlers have been amongst the wickets too and what is heartening to see is the way part-timer Jadhav has rolled his arm over and achieved instant success. Ravindra Jadeja has been added to the side in place of the injured Axar Patel and one can back the Saurashtra all-rounder to adjust to the oppressive conditions of Dubai which are not dissimilar to those in Rajkot.

Bangladesh has been dealt a blow with star batsman Tamim Iqbal's departure through injury but they have the firepower to carry on without him. Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim stroked a brilliant century against Sri Lanka while carrying an injury and he will be critical to the Tigers' chances against India. Talisman Shakib al Hasan has looked in good touch and players like Mahmudullah Riyadh and Mominul Haque need to bat longer too.

The match between India and Bangladesh will provide an equal contest between bat and ball. It is very hard to pick a favourite although India does look a lot stronger on paper. This will be Bangladesh's chance to show that they can challenge the big boys of world cricket.

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