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Since beating South Africa in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup, Team India have featured in eight T20Is. The first of those was a loss at the Harare Sports Club, but they've put together a seven-match win streak since then.
In their most recent fixture in the format, the Men in Blue beat Sri Lanka in a Super Over thriller that saw Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav serve as death bowlers. Apart from that, though, things have been fairly routine for the team, with comfortable series wins over Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar and company will now embark on their next assignment, a three-match rubber against Bangladesh, who were recently whitewashed in the Test leg of the tour. Gwalior's new venue, the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, will host the venue on Sunday, October 6.
As for Bangladesh, they will play their first T20I since the T20 World Cup, where they won three of their seven matches. Shakib Al Hasan has moved on from the format, but there are plenty of talented names in the mix, including Rishad Hossain, who was the find of the ICC tournament.
India, who have won their last five meetings against Bangladesh and have a history of somehow managing to get over the line even in close fixtures, are the obvious favorites for this encounter. But with a new venue and a second-string squad from the hosts, the playing field could be leveled a bit.
IND vs BAN 2024: India are the heavy favorites in Gwalior
Do Bangladesh have enough batting firepower to ask questions of the Indian bowlers? Their bowling attack should be able to fair decently - apart from Rishad, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, and Hasan Mahmud from a potent pace unit in whichever combination they are fielded. But the batting doesn't inspire enough confidence.
Towhid Hridoy is a new-age hitter who adds dynamism and aggression to the middle order, while Litton Das has had his moments at the top. The experienced Mahmudullah is still going strong, too. On the whole, however, the Tigers arguably don't have enough hitting ability to hang with the top teams.
India have named a strong, exciting squad for the series. They have clear X-factors in all departments, and despite Sanju Samson's unconventional deployment as an opener, the Men in Blue have oodles of talent to get them over the line.
Bangladesh are likely going to struggle to counter India's spinners, who have plenty of tricks up their sleeve. Even the fast bowlers could be deadly, with the home side all set to unleash Mayank Yadav. Not much needs to be said about the batting firepower the Tigers will need to somehow stifle.
Anything can happen in a game of cricket, and both Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka have run India close at times lately. However, Bangladesh cannot be expected to produce a performance of similar effect.
Prediction: India to win the 1st T20I vs Bangladesh.
