Champions Trophy semi-final: India face Bangladesh today

Birmingham: Defending champions India will take on Bangladesh in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy here today.India who are favourites in the tournament cannot take Bangladesh lightly as the game is unpredictable till the last ball is bowled.The way they played against New Zealand shows their hunger to perform well and managed to book their semi-final berth.India who dominated South Africa would like to repeat the same against Bangladesh as well.

For India victory will not satisfy them, while if Bangladesh defeat India it will be a historic day for the neighbouring country.However, victory for India would not fully satisfy them as win against the Australia, South Africa or England is concerned.For the Indian team management, it will be tricky whether to retain off-spinner Ashwin or bring in Umesh Yadav who was brilliant in warm-up game against Bangladesh.

However, Bangladesh would like to repeat their 2007 World Cup opener victory against India in Port of Spain.Comparing both the teams, Indian team has the edge in all departments of the game though Bangladesh also have quality players in their side.Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are in their best form and cannot be compared with Tamim Iqbal or Soumya Sarkar.However, Tamim is doing consistently well in the tournament.Comparing Indian skipper Virat Kohli's class with Imrul Kayes or Sabbir Rahaman is hardly matchable.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has vast experience as former captain and will give valuable inputs when the team is in trouble and can play big shots, while Mushfiqur Rahim is still an inconsistent player.Mahmudullah Riyadh has the capacity to win matches, but Yuvraj Singh, playing his 300th match, is in his best form and can play a crucial innings for the team.Mashrafe, Taskin, Rubel and Mustafizur are a good attack on a given day and that's Bangladesh's best chance to upset India.But with likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya who are at their best can decimate Bangladesh batting line-up. (UNI)