Today's match winner is not easy to expect as a semi final chance is still there for Bangladesh up for grabs.

Bangladesh has vastly improved in all departments, especially the way Shakib has played for his team is heart warming. He is set to become Man of the tournament for sure.

I am having my doubts about an Indian win today seeing the growth of Bangladesh especially in this tournament. We have witnessed some nerve wracking encounters between these 2 sides & it must be the same today.

A battle of equals on the cards I guess unless Shakib is played well & he is got out early.

I am curiously looking forward to today's match as Tigers are ready to challenge lions in Birmingham. I am not predicting the result as it will be for everyone to see in few hours from now!

India have won the toss and opt to bat first with Bhuvi & Dinesh in for Kuldeep & Kedar. Advantage India I guess by batting first on a deteriorating pitch.

The chances are that India will play England and Australia will take on NZ. England is pretty tough competitor taken into consideration their current form.  

suni51 wrote:

The chances are that India will play England and Australia will take on NZ. England is pretty tough competitor taken into consideration their current form.  

Yes, in that case I feel Australia will enter the final at Lord's Cricket Ground for sure given the way they played against New Zealand in their last match. And India can beat England this time provided they have learned from their defeat.

Saurav Banerjee wrote:

suni51 wrote:

The chances are that India will play England and Australia will take on NZ. England is pretty tough competitor taken into consideration their current form.  

Yes, in that case I feel Australia will enter the final at Lord's Cricket Ground for sure given the way they played against New Zealand in their last match. And India can beat England this time provided they have learned from their defeat.

This world cup I have been very skeptical about team India's performance and have always felt it cannot win and I still feel it that way.

However with all the injuries and team selection, India has done pretty well as a team. However I still feel that India lacks that killer intent which is possessed by Australia and England.

I think India & New Zealand are in the same bracket of play and that Australia & England may play the finals.

India's middle order has been the main cause of concern and it has always been the bowlers standing out for our team this time.

Only if Virat, Rohit & Rahul fire in unison, India has a chance at final.

One more thing may be England chasing and succumbing to the scoreboard pressure or the World Cup pressure as they have failed in chases. That is a light of hope.

True, if India can learn from it's defeat, it can beat England.

I think Indians will do their best if they have to go into finals. Do not take England lightly as they have the most devastating openers and two good batsmen to follow them. India will miss Dhavan at this point in this match.   

suni51 wrote:

I think Indians will do their best if they have to go into finals. Do not take England lightly as they have the most devastating openers and two good batsmen to follow them. India will miss Dhavan at this point in this match.   

Yes absolutely. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma together form such a devastating opening pair in the ODIs. So, India will badly miss the power hitting of Dhawan in the knock out phases ! However, on the flip side, it's the opportunity in front of the other players to step up and make up for the loss of Shikhar.

Unfortunately other players have not stepped up much. K L Rahul has been the anchor and has fulfilled that role reasonably well, but the fact that he is a right technique player and has good cricketing shots in his books mean that everybody does expect a big knock from the man.

However he has played only a sheet anchor role and hence the run rate is not so good for the team.

epraneeth77 wrote:

Unfortunately other players have not stepped up much. K L Rahul has been the anchor and has fulfilled that role reasonably well, but the fact that he is a right technique player and has good cricketing shots in his books mean that everybody does expect a big knock from the man.

However he has played only a sheet anchor role and hence the run rate is not so good for the team.

Yes Rahul's strike rate has not been impressive in this edition of the world cup so far. Interestingly, now that Mayank Agarwal is in the team, it remains to be seen that if he gets an opportunity straightaway in the game against Sri Lanka today. Mayank is an opening batsman known for his elegance and stroke play at the same time. He is also pretty solid with his technique. So, he can be a perfect replacement for Rahul if not for Dhawan.