World Cup 2019: Five things we learned about India against Bangladesh

India faced Bangladesh at Edgbaston, Birmingham after losing to England at the same venue just a few days before. It was an important game for Bangladesh, as elimination was likely if they lost.

After winning the toss, India batter first. The Men in Blue played well initially and scored 314/9 in 50 overs which looked like an unsafe total against Bangladesh who already chased a 300+ total successfully against West Indies in this World Cup.

The Bangladeshi Tigers even scored 330 against South Africa, which the Proteas could not chase. All these put India under some pressure, but still, they fought with confidence. The bowlers bowled excellently and bundled the opponents for 286.

With this win, India book their semi-finals spot. The contest against Bangladesh revealed certain things about the 2011 World Cup champions as they move forward in this edition of the tournament.

This article examines team India after their victory against Bangladesh to see how they will proceed tactically from this point.

---

#1 A Record awaiting to be broken

Rohit Sharma celebrates after scoring a century

Rohit Sharma scored a vital century yet again in this World Cup. Initially, Tamim Iqbal dropped his catch in an over of Mustafizur Rahman. If Tamim succeeded, then India’s total would’ve looked low as Rohit was just on nine runs.

The Hitman capitalized on this and made the opponents pay by scoring 104. The likes of Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Dinesh Karthik did not score much in this match so perhaps Bangladesh would have won the match if it wasn’t for that drop catch.

This is the fourth century by Rohit in this World Cup. Only Kumar Sangakkara has hit that many in a single World Cup edition. Ironically, India’s next opponent is Sri Lanka, against whom Rohit has scored two double hundreds.

Also see – India vs Sri Lanka head to head stats

#2 An astute gameplan

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The previous match against England did not go well for the bowlers. They conceded too many runs and it would’ve been a small dent in their overall confidence heading forward. Thankfully, the same venue gave the management some room to experiment.

Instead of giving Kuldeep another chance they gave a go for Bhuvneshwar Kumar which made them play with four fast bowlers. The gamble benefited them as the bowlers showed character in the conditions. Similar experiments might be evident in the coming games.

---

#3 The role of Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja

India opted to drop Kuldeep Yadav and Kedar Jadhav for this match. A spinner and a spin bowling all-rounder being dropped gave room for the fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The other spot should have been logically filled with someone who handles both bat and ball.

Ravindra Jadeja was readily available in the absence of Kedar Jadhav. However, the team management decided to give that opportunity for Dinesh Karthik. With semifinals heading close India might not be having plans for Jadeja except using him as a substitute fielder.

#4 Rishabh Pant shines at number four

Rishabh Pant played some of his trademark IPL shots against Bangladesh

The management backed Pant at number four even after his nervous performance against England during the last game. In this match, he showed some maturity and knocked 48 with confidence and composure.

The youngster's wicket fell because of a poor shot but still, his cameo against Bangladesh shows that he is ready to take on bigger oppositions in the same spot during knockouts. Although he did not seal it still, he made a good impression before the management.

---

#5 MS Dhoni's role remains unchanged

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni’s style of play was not suitable for India while chasing a big total against England. The veteran played defensive cricket while the situation at Birmingham demanded him to do otherwise. The same happened against West Indies and Afghanistan, too.

Taking these into consideration, India should have used him at number four. It would have been an ideal spot for him to bat deep and build towards firing at the end. However, India seems to be comfortable using Dhoni in the lower middle order heading forward.