India look to seal place in final

Colombo, March 13 

India would like to throw the mathematical possibilities out of the window and seal their place in the final of the T20 tri-series when they face a tricky Bangladesh here tomorrow. Having suffered an unexpected defeat against Sri Lanka in their tournament opener, it is highly unlikely that India will experiment against a resurgent Bangladesh in their final league match. 

Bangladesh's confidence has been boosted by their record 215-run chase against Sri Lanka and a win against India will bolster their chances of making it to the final. A defeat may not be end of the road for India as it will then depend on the outcome of final game between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Net run-rate will also be a factor. With back-to-back victories in the last two games, India have a healthy net run-rate of +0.21.

For India, the biggest worry remains skipper Rohit Sharma's form. However, the bigger challenge will be faced by the bowlers against Bangladesh's unpredictable batting line-up. In their last encounter, India did well to restrict Bangladesh to 139. But in Bangladesh's very next match, Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim hammered the Sri Lankan attack into submission, chasing down the highest-ever target on Sri Lankan soil.

Shardul ready to step up  

In the bowling department, IPL's costliest Indian buy, Jaydev Unadkat, has been expensive in all three matches. However, Shardul Thakur has done well in the last two games. Thakur's four-wicket haul was instrumental in India restricting Sri Lanka to 152 and he deservingly got the Man of the Match award. 

Asked about the challenge of being a back-up pacer, the Thakur said: "I am taking it as a challenge. If other senior bowlers are missing from the team, then I have to step up." — PTI