DHAKA: India have been in absolutely fine form in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. They’ve won all their six games in the group stages, beating big boys like Pakistan and South Africa. Now their next target is Bangladesh. But Shakib-al Hasan’s team are a different beast this time.

They’ve made it clear that they’re not going to be pushovers and Rishad DSouza feels they have plenty going in their favour to topple India in their quarter-final clash. He lists five reasons why Bangladesh could prove to be more than a handful for their older neighbours.

Bangladesh’s bowling attack: Indian batsmen may have faced some fearsome bowlers including Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Mohammad Irfan in the group stages of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. But Bangladesh have a formidable pace attack themselves in Rubel Hussain, Mashrafe Mortaza and Taskin Ahmed. Their fast bowlers have made the ball do things. In that fateful match against England they showed that they not only have immense skill but are even capable of holding their nerve in crunch situations.

India’s complacency: After those comfortable victories in the group stages against highly ranked teams, India are likely to be engulfed in a false sense of superiority when they take the field against Bangladesh. If India do make that mistake it will be perilous to their hopes of moving ahead to defend their World Cup title.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmadullah: The Bangladeshi batting have been held together by the grace and charm of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmadullah. They’ve scored runs in all kinds of situations against diverse bowling attacks. There’s no reason to think they’ll not do the same when they face India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Mahmadullah has scored two back to back hundred against the bowling attacks of England and New Zealand and will want to add another ton to the tally.

The Shakib Al Hasan factor: The abilities Shakib Al Hasan with either bat or ball can’t be questioned. He has dominated all-rounder charts even while Bangladesh were in pathetic form about a year ago. With his team firing he has looked just as confident; if anything he has only looked more determined. He picked four wickets against New Zealand and almost bowled Bangladesh to a win in the match. He has chipped in with handy contributions with the bat too.

An opportunity to re-pay fans: Bangladesh’s fans have been termed by many as the most loyal cricket fans as they’ve supported their team relentlessly even through times of despair. Now that Bangladesh have reached the quarter finals, they’ll push themselves to go that extra mile so as to reimburse that undying faith and love with something enormous.

Source: CricketCountry.com

BDST: 2113 HRS, MAR 18, 2015