The Rohit Sharma-led India team enter their fourth game as clear favourites.
The seventeenth game of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is scheduled to take place in Pune. Team India will meet Shakib Al Hasan-less side and look to continue their dominance in the tournament.
For Bangladesh, Najmul Shanto will most likely lead the side in the absence of regular captain Shakib, who is suffering from injury.
Pitch Report & Toss:
The pitch in Pune is expected to be a belter of a wicket, helping teams score big. The last game played in Pune was in 2021 where India managed to score 340 plus runs. If Rohit Sharma wins the toss, it will be expected that India will opt to bat. With India chasing in the first 3 games of the tournament, it will also be an opportunity to set a good total and defend it.
Weather Report
The weather in Pune on 19th October 2023 is expected to have a temperature of 24 degrees. The best news of the fans is – there’s 1% chance of precipitation with 90% humidity. Hence, we will surely see players sweating in those conditions.
Crowd in the Stadium
The crowd in Pune is expected to come in large numbers. Especially because an international game in the city is happening after a period of 2.5 years. Hopefully, it will be jam packed.
Press Conference Updates:
In the press conference, Bangladesh coach, Chandikaconfirmed that a final call on Shakib’s participation will be taken on match day. He also said that if Shakib is not 100% fit, the team will not risk his participation even when he is an important player to the side.
He said, “Call on Shakib will be taken tomorrow. We will play him only if he is 100% fit.”
Head-to-Head:
The two teams have met each other regularly since 2007 ODI World Cup. Since then, India and Bangladesh have played a total of 4 matches, with Bangladesh winning in 2007, while India managing to keep their dominance in 2011, 2015, and 2019.
Probable 11:
India: Rohit Sharma ©, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Bangladesh
Litton Das, Tanzid Tamim, MehidyHasan Miraz, Najmul Shanto ©, Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Musatifizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam.
Who is likely to win?
Well, two upsets may have happened in past 4 days, but I still can’t see Bangladesh upsetting India in Pune. The Indian team is looking really strong across all departments and it will take some extraordinary work out of Shakib-less side to do so. I certainly feel that India will add 2 more points and regain the top spot in the points table.
