Key events
17th over: Bangladesh 98-1 (Das 41, Shanto 3). A neat little paddle from Das has Bangladesh hoping for two but fine fielding at deep square leg limits them to one. Kuldeep then almost snares Shanto with his quicker delivery, straight on middle stump, but the batter pushes out. A tremendous over is crowned by one that really does turn, a ripper past Shanto’s edge outside off. India are back in this.
Still no sign of Pandya, who hobbled off half an hour or so ago.
16th over: Bangladesh 96-1 (Das 40, Shanto 2). With two decent, experienced batters at the crease, this is a real test now for Bangladesh not to fall victim to the kind of collapses that have characterised so many innings in this tournament. Shanto is watchful against Thakur, who’s grateful for some rare dot balls. A flicked single and a quick single are all that Bangladesh can muster.
High praise from OBO regular Krishnamoorthy: “Has there been a better opening partnership against India with Bumrah in the team? Probably not”
15th over: Bangladesh 94-1 (Das 39, Shanto 1). Kuldeep continues as all the pre-match forecasts of a lack of turn in Pune continue to prove accurate. There’s a much bigger crowd in now, with noise and percussion to match, and that all ramps up a lot more as Kuldeep ends the partnership, continuing his wicket-taking knack. New man in, the stand-in captain Shanto, gets off the mark second ball.
Wicket! Tanzid lbw b Kuldeep 51, Bangladesh 93-1
The vital breakthrough, Tanzid tries to sweep a flipper, misreads it and it hits him plumb in front.
14th over: Bangladesh 90-0 (Tanzid 50, Das 37). Tanzid has a good cover drive on him and stings the hands of the fielder at extra cover to add another single off Thakur, and then goes aerial in that same offside region, cracking another four to move to the cusp of his first ODI half-century, which he brings up with another push on the off. He’s played beautifully – seeing off an opening burst from Bumrah is something to brag about in its own right, and he’s opened his shoulders since then. And that’s drinks.
13th over: Bangladesh 82-0 (Tanzid 44, Das 35). Another crisp square cut from Litton Das punishes a slightly short ball from Kuldeep for four more. The strike gets rotated agreeably too – the challenge now is to build on this: this is a 300+ surface for anyone.
12th over: Bangladesh 72-0 (Tanzid 42, Das 28). We are told this is now Bangladesh’s highest opening partnership in a World Cup after Thakur is milked for a two and a one. It’s followed by what is technically a chance as Tanzid hammers one at the bowler’s hand. He never looked able to grasp it. The openers have clearly decided to target Thakur, as a result of which Tanzid almost plays on, but these two look pretty comfortable at the moment.
11th over: Bangladesh 68-0 (Tanzid 41, Das 25). Kuldeep – who’s had a good tournament so far – is the first spinner used, as Rohit has some thinking to do. But the runs keep coming, two singles followed by a larrup over the bowlers head for four by Litton Das. The comeback ball is great, mind, a slider that befuddles the batter.
I guess the worry for Bangladesh is that India will make hay with the bat against an injury-depleted attack just as they have so far.
10th over: Bangladesh 63-0 (Tanzid 4o, Das 21). Bangladesh are suddenly on the charge. Another bowling change – the third in two overs – sees Shardul Thakur replace Siraj. And an emboldened Tanzid gets hold of a back of a length ball and swings it over deep square leg for SIX to bring up the 50 partnership. Two more fours follow as Tanzid advances and cracks Thakur over mid-on and extra-cover respectively. The ball is coming on to the bat nicely now, to say the least.
9th over: Bangladesh 47-0 (Tanzid 24, Das 21). The good news is that Hardik is up off the deck, but he’s moving very gingerly. Surely he can’t bowl? And he doesn’t – he has to leave the field. AND VIRAT KOHLI IS GOING TO COMPLETE THE OVER! The crowd – those that have got in – go noisily berzerk. His first ball for six years is accurate and respectfully defended. The second inswinging dobber is flicked to long-on for one and the third is pushed square on the off for one. And that completes his spell at 0.3-0-2-0.
8.3 overs: Bangladesh 37-0 (Tanzid 23, Das 20). Looks like we might – might – have got ourselves a contest here. Hardik Pandya replaces Bumrah and begins with a jaffa, an on-length beauty that seams away from Das and beats him all ends up. The batter responds with two lovely boundaries – withering advancing thwack through extra cover for four and an imperious straight drive. Worse for India, Hardik appears to have twisted or pulled something in stretching with his leg to stop Litton’s drive and needs the physio’s attention. We’ve got a bit of a delay.
8th over: Bangladesh 37-0 (Tanzid 23, Das 12). Das pulls Siraj for a single and then Tanzid advances and cracks one over the offside infield for four. This is good, positive cricket against a new ball beginning to lose some swing. Tanzid is seeing it well, and proves it with the shot of the day, an impeccable straight drive past the bowler for four. Dare I say that a semblance of a platform is being built here?
Random thought: is Nasser Hussain the only commentator who ever uses the phrase “gun-barrel straight”?
7th over: Bangladesh 27-0 (Tanzid 15, Das 11). Das appears to be growing in confidence and nudges his first run off Bumrah square on the offside. Bumrah opts to go round the wicket at the left-handed Tanzid looking to bring lbw in to play, having slanted a lot across him thus far, and then beats him with an outswinger slanted the other way. And then, from nowhere, Tanzid rounds off the over by leg-glancing a short ball to fine leg for SIX – letting the pace do the work. Grounds for Bangladeshi hope here?
“I note yet another reference to Organisational Blunder,” quips Neil Hickey. “This young Blunder chap keeps getting mentioned everywhere, has to be a strong chance to be Player of the Tournament at this rate.” Yeah, definite Euro 96 vibes from some of these empty-seated arenas.
6th over: Bangladesh 19-0 (Tanzid 9, Das 10). A productive over at last for Bangladesh. Siraj gets some venom and bounce from the pitch, beating Litton Das outside off before Das delivers the day’s first boundary, cracking it high behind square on the offside for four. And it’s followed – London bus style* – by another, clipping a fuller delivery through midwicket for a sumptuous four.
* The London-bus metaphor thing is quite tired really isn’t it – London buses are way more reliable than in the rest of the country with its deregulated madness.
5th over: Bangladesh 10-0 (Tanzid 9, Das 1). “If they survive Bumrah without losing a wicket – that is the best outcome for any,” says Krishnamoorthy, rightly. A searing inswinging yorker tests Tanzid but he digs it out well and has the speed of thought to run a much-needed quick single. Das is off the mark too, finally, with a flick through midwicket. A loose shot from Tanzid ensues, throwing bat and missing at a wide one outside off. The batter’s not enjoying this at all as Bumrah hurls another one at his pads – they should have appealed for that, replays suggest. Tamzid makes a thicker connection to an outswinger to round off the over, hoicking over backward point for a couple.
4th over: Bangladesh 6-0 (Tanzid 6, Das 0). There are still huge lines of people outside the currently half-full stadium – this looks like a bit of an organisational blunder – as Siraj starts his second over. Tanzid pushes an easy single. An aggressive field is set for Litton Das with a wide slip, seeking to deny him easy singles, and he still can’t get off the mark. This is an impeccably parsimonious start from India.
3rd over: Bangladesh 5-0 (Tanzid 5, Das 0). It may be a true batting surface but it’s got pace and bounce, and that – alongside his immense talent – is going to make Bumrah a fearsome proposition and he beats Litton outside off before bringing one in and rapping the batter on the pads. An appeal ensues from the bowler but no one else joins in – impact was outside off I think, but it’s a fine set-up. Is there a harder fast bowler to face in world cricket? Litton will be pleased to have survived a maiden.
2nd over: Bangladesh 5-0 (Tanzid 5, Das 0). Mohammed Siraj starts us off at the other end and almost snaffled a wicket first ball, as Tanzid’s uppish miscued off-drive just beats the man at point and goes for four. It’s a tidy over overall, but Tanzid sees out competently enough.
“I’ve got every bit of vinyl released by indie miserabilists Birdland,” “brags” Matt Kitson, “including a rare bootleg LP (see attached). If anyone wants to make me an offer for the job lot, I’m all ears. They were absolutely massive in Japan, and very briefly in Huddersfield (well, I liked them even if nobody else did).”
If someone had told me 30 years ago that you could make an actual living arguing about Birdland on a computer while watching cricket I’d have, well … assumed the future of our species would be a lot rosier than it’s actually turned out to be.
1st over: Bangladesh 1-0 (Tanzid 1, Das 0). So the ever-potent Jasprit Bumrah gets the new ball at the far end, and begins with what we might call a loosener and stricter umpires would have called a wide, drifting way outside the left-handed Tanzid’s off stump. A push through the offside for a single gets Tanzid and Bangladesh off the mark but the openers are watchful against Bumrah’s zip and fizz, and their apprehension is justified by a beautiful away-swinger that nips off the seam and beats Litton outside off. There are still huge queues outside the stadium.
“Bangladesh wants to bat – India says they would have bowled In such a scenario, can we do away with the toss? Think about it,” says Krishnamoorthy. I have thought about it and would still go ahead with the toss, I think. Captains might want to hold their thoughts back and keep opponents guessing, which might be undermined by a chummy pre-match agreement. And there’s always a role for dramatic ritual, so I’d keep it.
The teams are coming out for the anthems …
A bit of pre-match grim-up-northery from friend of the OBO Simon McMahon: “Weather Report? Well here in Dundee, it’s got to be Heavy Weather. Biblical rain forecast for the next two days. Gale force winds thrown in for good measure. Thank whoever for the cricket, and OBO. Let’s hope today is not a Procession.”
Birdland – now there’s a band I’ve not thought about for three decades (with reason, I might quip)
Nasser Hussain walks out pointlessly with the trophy as part of the pre-match ceremonials. The ground’s not yet full but expect it to fill up through the course of the afternoon.
The teams
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Bangladesh: Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam.
So India keep the same XI that demolished Pakistan, Bangladesh bring in Nasum Ahmed – like Shakib a slow left-armer – and Hasan Mahmud for Shakib and Taskin Ahmed. Their attack looks weakened, so the decision to bat first on a pitch that doesn’t have much turn and has runs in it has a certain logic.
Fact-gasm: this is the first time Bangladesh have played India in India for 25 years – less a quirk than a damning indictment of the international game’s inadequately regulated fixture schedule
Bangladesh win the toss and bat
Bangladesh captain Shanto calls correctly and opts to have a bat, fancying the look of the pitch. Regular skipper, the veteran Shakin Al Hasan, is out with a quad injury – a big blow.
Rohit Sharma meanwhile says he would have bowled, so everyone’s happy.
Pune weather report: it’s around 30 degrees there at the moment with a partially cloudy forecast, and the meteorological boffins giving it a 20% chance of rain through the early stages. We’ve been relatively fortunate with the weather so far in this World Cup, so hopefully that can continue.
Preamble
Morning/Afternoon/Evening everyone. Let’s be honest: this World Cup desperately needs a close match. It’s had two bona fide upsets – Afghanistan eviscerating England and the Netherlands’ emphatic win over South Africa – but even the second of those was characterised by a curiously low-key ending as the Proteas sought to farm their net run rate and play for a respectable defeat rather than go down swinging, or entertaining.
On form so far, we look to be heading for another convincing win today too, in Pune’s first match of the tournament. India have thus far looked the most convincing World Cup favourites since Australia in their 1999-2007 imperial phase. It’s hard to identify a weak link in this team, and their big guns – yer Rohits, Kohlis, Bumrahs, Jadejas et al – all seem to be firing, rising to the occasion in thumping wins against two big rivals.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, are yet to convince – after swatting aside Afghanistan they were well beaten by England and New Zealand. But they have a decent recent ODI record against India, beating them in a home series late last year and recording a narrow win in the Asia Cup last month.
And, of course, Bangladesh have those memories of their 2007 humbling of India in Trinidad, for my money the most significant World Cup match this century – a match that two of their current squad, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, played in. Since then, the format’s been tweaked to, more or less, shock-proof the tournament, ensuring that nothing so vulgar as a “big three” nation going home after three games could happen again. So here we are instead, with an interminable 10-team single-group stage and much NRR dullardry.
Anyway, I’m happy to return to my theory that 2007 was the Year That Changed Cricket during quiet patches of play, but in the meantime we’ve a match to watch, crammed full of watchable cricketers. Bring it.
Play starts 9.30am BST/2pm local time/7.30pm AET