02 July,2019 10:32 AM IST | | Harit N Joshi
Indian cricketers Kuldeep Yadav (L) and Ravindra Jadeja. Pic/AFP
Birmingham: England disrupting India's unbeaten run here on Sunday has opened up various possibilities as far as their combination is concerned for Virat Kohli & Co's penultimate league match of the World Cup against Bangladesh today. India got a fair idea of the pitch conditions here at Edgbaston on Sunday when they played England. Kohli's men will take on Bangladesh on the same pitch today in the hope of sealing their semi-final spot.
The pitch looked a batting beauty when England openers Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy went berserk. However, as the match progressed, the pitch was still flat, but there was a bit of slowness in the track.
India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said they will rework their combination for the Bangladesh match and if needed, go in with three pacers and one spinner, something which England did.
ALSO READ
Dhoni, Rohit, KL gear up for charity
This month that year: A journey through time
Erasmus admits to making ‘massive error’ in 2019 ODI World Cup final
How Kuldeep 2.0 emerged as India's most impactful spinner vs England
MS Dhoni: 'Run-out in 2019 WC semis made it clear it was my last day for India'
"The team management will be open to various combinations looking at the venue, dimensions and conditions. We are open to all combinations where three seamers can play along with [medium-pacer] Hardik [Pandya]. We're also looking at [Ravindra] Jadeja coming in. All players are up and figure in the team combinations we are thinking of," said Bangar on Sunday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has fully recovered from the hamstring injury which he suffered against Pakistan. This addition will also boost the tail which otherwise is quite long. Deploying spinners was not really an effective option on this pitch as wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav [1-72] and Yuzvendra Chahal [0-88] conceded a total of 160 runs in their 20 overs. Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza would be hoping his team bring up a similar performance as the one in the 2007 World Cup match at Port of Spain which derailed India's progress after the first round.
"Every time we have played India, they have invariably been better. The current side are very strong too. If we reach 100 per cent [in playing to their ability] then you never know. In sport, anyone can beat anyone. It will be very hard, but we have to be at our best," said Mortaza.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
