Nidahas Trophy 2018, Final: Bangladesh vs India – Match Predictions

At the start of the Nidahas Trophy 2018, it was India and Sri Lanka who were the two favourites to make it to the final, but as it turned out, Bangladesh pulled off two back to back wins against Sri Lanka to set up a grand finale with the Men in Blue tomorrow.

While India is clearly a much stronger side on paper even in the absence of some of their mainstays, Bangladesh is carrying a nice, positive momentum into the final and it isn’t going to be just a walk in the park for the Indians. The presence of the home team in the final would have assured a full house at the R Premadasa Stadium, however even if that’s not the case, people should come out in reasonable numbers as there will be some quality white-ball cricketers on show on a Sunday evening.

Pitch and Conditions

The conditions have played a huge part in the Nidahas Trophy. Out of the 6 games that have been played so far, 5 were won by the teams batting second which shows chasing has been easier and the straightforward reason is the dew.

With a 7 pm start in the evening, the conditions remain pretty dewy in the first innings as well, but as the evening progresses, the dew sets in nicely and it virtually becomes impossible for the bowlers to land the wet ball in the right areas. Winning the toss will be a massive advantage and it’s a no-brainer whoever that one who has the luck with the coin decides to field first.

Playing Combination

India

Most of the young Indian players who have got opportunities in this short tournament have excelled, be it Vijay Shankar, Washington Sundar or Shardul Thakur. However, there have been a couple who have found it difficult to handle the pressure of the big stage and one of them is Mohammed Siraj. Although the Hyderabad speedster got only one opportunity, he erred with his bowling quite a lot and India can’t afford to play a bowler short on confidence in the final.

Siraj is likely to be replaced by Jaydev Unadkat who also has not fared up particularly well in T20 cricket of late, but he is definitely more experienced in comparison and he brings a different proposition into the picture as he is a left-armer. If Unadkat plays, he will have to ensure he executes his cutters and change-ups better as that’s what he heavily banks upon.

The rest of the Indian XI should remain the same with Rohit Sharma is unlikely to make any change in the batting department. KL Rahul will get another opportunity and will probably bat 3 unless there is a big first wicket partnership which then might result in the promotion of Suresh Raina in the batting order.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Vijay Shankar, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has certainly got strengthened with the return of Shakib Al Hasan, both as a batting as well as a bowling unit. The 30-year-old is a genuine all-rounder who is equally good in both the facets of the game and a lot of responsibility will be on his shoulders in this big game.

Shakib batted 7 last game as by his own admission he hadn’t had too many hits before the game, but he should ideally bat slightly up the order in the final, possibly at 5 and give himself that extra bit of time in the middle.

Bangladesh might make one change in the XI and bring back Taskin Ahmed in place of Nazmul Islam. Taskin’s form with the ball of late hasn’t been great, but he has got pace and carries an X-factor with himself which Shakib might like to have at his disposal coming into the final.

Their key man will again be Mahmudullah who is turning out to be one of the better finishers in T20 cricket in the recent times and the Bangladesh team management will be hoping for another charismatic effort from the vice-captain who was fantastic the other night against the hosts Sri Lanka.

Probable XI: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah (c), Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain

Here is what CricTracker predicts for the match:

Probable Top Performers

Shikhar Dhawan (India), Mahmudullah (Bangladesh)

Head to Head

Total matches played – 7, India won –7, Sri Lanka won – 0, No Result/ Tied – 0.

Match Timings: 7:00 PM IST

Broadcast Details

TV – D Sport

Online Streaming: Yupp TV

The prediction is for India to beat Bangladesh and win the Nidahas Trophy.