Dhaka, Dec 7 () Left-arm spin all-rounder Axar Patel and tearaway quick Umran Malik have been included in India’s playing eleven as Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first in the second ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Wednesday.
Bangladesh are leading the three-match series 1-0 and will need to win Wednesday’s match to clinch the series. India need to win the second ODI to force the series into a decider in the third match at Chattogram on December 10.
India skipper Rohit Sharma said Axar, who was unavailable for the first ODI, comes into the playing eleven for Shahbaz Ahmed, while Malik comes in for fast bowler Kuldeep Sen, who had picked two wickets in his international debut on Sunday. Rohit had said that Sen “is not available” for the second ODI, which is why Malik has come into the playing eleven.
An update from the BCCI said Sen complained of back stiffness following the first ODI, which India lost by one wicket. It added that the medical team assessed him and advised him to rest, thus ruling him out of selection for the second ODI.
“We have to play good cricket and I hope bowling first now, we can restrict them to a decent score and bat well. Going back to the drawing board and understanding how we need to play on this conditions, just the basic talk about what we need to do with the bat and how to handle certain bowlers. Had good training session yesterday, and hopefully we can come out and replicate those learnings,” stated Rohit.
Bangladesh captain Litton Das said left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed comes in for fast bowler Hasan Mahmud in their playing eleven. “Looks a good wicket, last game we saw it was difficult to bat in the second innings. The boys are pumped up for this contest.”
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj and Umran Malik.
Bangladesh: Litton Das (captain), Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicket-keeper), Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Ebadot Hossain.
nr/akm