Following the conclusion of their white-ball tour of New Zealand, Team India are set to travel to Bangladesh with a stong batting order for a multi-format series.
The two Asian sides will compete in a three-match ODI World Cup Super League series and a two-game ICC World Test Championship rubber.
The opening ODI is scheduled to be played at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Sunday, December 4. The following two ODIs will also take place at the same venue on December 7 and December 10.
While the Men in Blue fielded a young side in their three ODIs against New Zealand, regular senior players, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul, are set to return to the team in Bangladesh.
The hosts, meanwhile, were dealt a huge blow ahead of the series as their designated skipper Tamim Iqbal suffered an injury during a practice session, ruling him out of the ODI rubber. Even in-form pacer Taskin Ahmed will miss the first ODI.
With Team India and Bangladesh all set to resume their ODI rivalry, we look back at three memorable batting performances by the Men in Blue against their Asian rivals.
One of Virat Kohli‘s special batting knocks while chasing in ODIs came during India’s opening game at the 2014 Asia Cup against Bangladesh.
After being asked to bat first, Bangladesh managed to post a decent total of 279 in 50 overs on the back of skipper Mushfiqur Rahim’s 117 off 113. Mohammad Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 4/50.
When India came out to bat, it was Kohli’s brilliance that took the game away from the oppositionby his batting. India lost both their openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, within a span of five runs when Kohli decided to launch a counter-attack.
The former India skipper smashed 136 off 122 at a magnificent strike rate of 111.48 with the help of 16 fours and a couple of sixes. He stitched together a crucial 213-run partnership for the third wicket with Ajinkya Rahane (73).
India swiftly chased the target down and won the game by six wickets thanks to Kohli, who won the Man of the Match award.
While he also hit a century against Bangladesh at the 2019 ODI World Cup, Rohit’s 137-run knock against the Bangla Tigers at the 2015 50-over World Cup will be right up there as one of his personal bests in the format.
It ended up coming under a pretty tough situation that too, in a must-win quarter-final encounter.
On a bouncy Melbourne track, India found themselves struggling at 115-3 after 28 overs. Suresh Raina joined Rohit as the duo put together perhaps India’s most crucial partnership of the tournament by adding 122 runs in 15 overs.
Rohit fought his way to his seventh ODI century against a fully pumped-up Bangladeshi team, who gave their absolute best on the field and made India work hard for every single run.
The Men in Blue needed someone to bat through the innings and help them post a decent total. Rohit took responsibility and helped India reach 302, which sufficed as Bangladesh fell way short and India grabbed a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Striking at 108.7, Rohit’s 137-run knock off 127 balls was laced with 14 boundaries and three sixes.
Virender Sehwag scored a record-breaking 175 off 140 balls during the opening clash of the 2011 50-over World Cup.
Settling the nerves with a boundary on the very first ball, the former Indian opener provided early indications that the 2011 World Cup was going to be a momentous one for India. There was no looking back after that.
He sent the Bangladeshi bowlers on a leather hunt as he deposited the ball into all corners of the ground. Driving, pulling, and lofting to perfection, the right-handed batter struck 14 fours and five sixes on his way to a belligerent 175.
Kohli, too, scored an unbeaten ton batting on his World Cup debut. The two Delhi boys battered the bowlers as India set Bangladesh a mammoth 371-run target.
It was always going to be a herculean task for the Tigers, who fell short by 87 runs. While Tamim Iqbal scored 70, Munaf Patel took a four-fer for India.
Expectantly, Sehwag was handed the Player of the Match award for his heroic knock.
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