T20 World Cup: Looking to secure a semi-final berth, India face old foes Bangladesh in a crucial match

India versus Bangladesh, for a period at least, was cricket’s new big rivalry with a history of its own. Having lost to Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup, India went on to thrash Bangladesh in Dhaka in the inaugural match of the 2011 World Cup. The rivalry played out yet again in Melbourne in the 2015 World Cup. Thanks to a Rohit Sharma century, India won but Bangladesh fans felt let down by Aleem Dar, the umpire, who called a waist height full toss by Rubel Hossain that dismissed Rohit a No ball.

That the wounds hadn’t healed was evident when India toured Bangladesh months after the World Cup. Not only did the hosts win 3-0, the media and the fans went overboard with cartoons showing the Bangladeshi Tiger pouncing on the Indians. Distasteful morphed photographs of the Bangladesh skipper holding Indian captain MS Dhoni’s severed head were doing the rounds. From a sociological perspective, the rivalry had started to embed itself deep in peoples’ minds.

Close matches added spice to the growing intensity with India winning the 2016 T20 World Cup contest at home by a single run. The match is remembered for Dhoni’s brilliant run-out. The scars were deep. It was evident from Mushfiqur Rahim’s celebratory social media post after India’s loss to the West Indies. Bangladesh came close yet again in Sri Lanka in March 2018 before a Dinesh Karthik six off the last ball sealed their fate.

They had pushed India but were not able to close things out. Bangladesh are probably the only team in the world at the moment that can match India for fan support. It was no surprise that Edgbaston was reverberating with the chants of ‘Joy Bangla’ during the 2017 Champions Trophy.

It ended in a whimper with India winning easily but the Bangladesh fans have one more opportunity in Adelaide today. Though India have been in good form in T20 format, it is all about what happens on the day. Bangladesh will take heart from South Africa’s victory against India. On paper, India are a better unit even with the openers struggling. And it’ll be a real ask from the inexperienced Bangladesh top-order to deal with the quality of Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

A virtual knockout, however, is not just played with skill. It is played as much in the mind and that’s where Bangladesh can’t be ruled out. “We are enjoying the respect we’ve earned in the last few years,” Aminul Islam Bulbul, former Bangladesh captain, said. “No one should call us minnows. Every team knows we have the ability to beat them on our day. India know we’ll be competitive and if you see the history between India and Bangladesh, you know how tight some of the matches have been.”

There is no debate it will be a real spectacle at the beautiful Adelaide Oval if the weather holds true.