"You don't want to lose by a clean sweep" - Anjum Chopra says India have a few situations to handle in 3rd ODI

Anjum Chopra has said India will want to win the third and final ODI against Bangladesh to avoid being whitewashed.

The Men in Blue have already lost the series after suffering narrow defeats in the first two ODIs in Mirpur. They will be playing for pride in the last game in Chattogram on Saturday, December 10.

While previewing the game in a video shared on her YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted its importance to the visitors, elaborating:

"I feel the third ODI is important for India because the Test series will also start from there. Most importantly, the Indian team has to come back to winning ways. They have lost the series but you don't want to lose by a clean sweep."

Chopra pointed out that India will be disadvantaged due to two of their seamers getting ruled out of the final game. The former Indian skipper said:

"India have a few situations to handle. The first situation is that players are injured. Kuldeep Sen is injured, Deepak Chahar didn't bowl his full overs. So the Indian team has fewer fast bowlers. They played four fast bowlers in the second ODI but now they don't have four left in the ranks. So who will do the bowling?"

Kuldeep Yadav has been added to the Indian squad for the final ODI due to Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Sen's injuries. However, the Men in Blue will still be short in terms of their seam-bowling resources as he can only strengthen the spin-bowling department.

---

"Who will open?" - Anjum Chopra on whether KL Rahul will bat at the top of the order alongside Shikhar Dhawan

Virat Kohli opened the batting in the second ODI against Bangladesh.

Chopra is unsure if KL Rahul will open with Shikhar Dhawan in Rohit Sharma's absence, observing:

"The other concern is that if Rohit Sharma doesn't play in the batting lineup, who will open? Will KL Rahul open with Shikhar Dhawan, will we see a change again in the middle order? The Indian team have to handle all these situations."

Chopra concluded by stating that the hosts might have won the series but would want to improve in the batting department, explaining:

"Bangladesh don't have to do much. They have everything to play for. Litton Das is captaining well and they have won the series as well. But are they batting at their best? Is that not a concern for Bangladesh that they can bat slightly better? The Indian and Bangladesh teams' challenges are not similar but are somewhat alike."

Bangladesh's top-order batters did not make any substantial contributions in the first two ODIs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz bailed them out of trouble in both games, including an unbeaten century in the second ODI.

Poll : Should Kuldeep Yadav be included in India's playing XI for the final ODI?

Yes

No

19 votes

View Discussion 1