Cricketing Issues that should occupy Dhoni’s mind : India Vs Bangladesh

It is fair to say that the upcoming match versus against Bangaladesh is probably the least of Dhoni’s worries.   But as true cricket fans, let us focus on the cricket – shall we.  We will have lots of times to read about BCCI and Supreme Court and CSK and RR in the days to come.  Not that those things are not important – they most certainly are.  But the reason why we love this game is to follow what happens IN the field of play, not OUTside.

Here are the things that team India have to think about –

1. Yuvaraj Singh: Do we give him one more go.  We have given him 2 chances and he has failed miserably.  What is more troubling is the kind of cricket he has tried to play.  He has been defensive and week – not the Yuvaraj we love.  I am going to venture and say he will get another outing today.  And this will be his last chance to prove he still deserves to play for India.
2. Opening batsmen:  Both Indian batsmen, surprisingly, are looking very shaky.  Shikhar wants to hit is way out of trouble (not working) and Rohit wants to bat his way out of trouble (with some success).  A strong opening pair is critical, especially when we chase down big scores.   Ajinkya Rahane playing in place of Rohit or Shikhar is not out of the question.  But again, India will stick to Rohit and Shikhar for this game – I think.
3. Bat first and defend:  The last two matches were won by our brilliant bowling – no question about that.  But our bowling is our weakness.  It will be interesting to see how our bowlers perform under pressure.   So it might not be a bad idea to bat first today (if we win the toss) and see how it goes.  But given that it is a 7 pm game and with dew expected to play a role, bowling second will be that much more tougher.   So I suspect that the team winning the toss will look to bowl first.
4. Bench:  We have some very talented bunch in the bench – Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Mohit Sharma.   It might be worthwhile giving them a try – to know how good our bench really is.  But unless there is an injury, I do not see Dhoni changing the playing XI for this match.  He will want to win this match and ensure that we confirm our spot in the semi-finals. 

And finally, how will India approach this game mentally.  Will all the action outside the field affect Team India.  Let us wait and see. 

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