DUBAI: Having overpowered Pakistan in an intense tussle, a battle-hardened Indian team will square off in another potentially volatile Asia Cup Super 4 game against Bangladesh on Wednesday, when it is expected to encounter some quality spinners.
In terms of statistics, this is supposed to be another lopsided contest as Bangladesh have won only once in 17 head-to-head encounters between the two teams in the T20 format.
But since the 2015 ODI World Cup and a benefit-of-doubt life to Rohit Sharma at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the rivalry has become bitter between the two teams, thanks to the partisan young fans, many of whom perceive India as an adversary.
India's diplomatic relations with Bangladesh after the alleged toppling of the Sheikh Hasina Government have been rocky.
The BCCI even postponed a white-ball series, which was scheduled in August this year, to 2026 provided there is a democratically elected government in place.
On paper, Bangladesh are no match for India.
T20Is are not even Bangladesh's strength and, if all goes well, it could be another thumping win for Suryakumar Yadav's men.
But the fickle nature of the format and the slightly better spin attack of Bangladesh mean they could spring a surprise.
However, it is the gulf in the standard of batters across the two sides that is ultimately going to be the difference.
In the Indian team, one opener, Abhishek Sharma, is in the form of his life, scoring runs at a strike rate of nearly 210, while his partner in crime, Shubman Gill, has propped his to nearly 158 after the last Pakistan game.
In comparison, Bangladesh's two best T20 batters — skipper Litton Das (129 plus) and Towhid Hridoy (SR 124 plus) — have mediocre numbers to show for their efforts.
Bangladesh's best chance is to make India bat first and expect that Mustafizur Rahman, at the death, and the two spinners — leg-break bowler Rishad Hossain and off-spinner Mahedi Hasan — choke the run flow in the middle overs to make a game out of it.
Bangladesh's batting unit collectively does not have the power game to dominate Indian bowlers, but where they can create a bit of a problem is by restricting India in the 150-160 range, which will be chaseable for them.
For India, there is one minor issue which the team's analytics department must have taken note of and that is Tilak Varma's struggles against spin this year.
Noted analytics site 'CricMetric' has provided a lowdown of Tilak's strike rate against spin in T20Is across 2024 and 2025.
In 2024, Tilak played 61 deliveries against slow bowlers in five games and scored 116 runs at a strike rate of 190 plus. His dot-ball percentage against spinners was 21.
But in 2025, Tilak has scored only 92 runs off 80 balls in seven innings at a strike rate of 115 and a dot-ball percentage of 38.
The left-hander has been way more comfortable against quicker bowlers and scored freely with lofted shots.
But against spinners, when the ball slightly grips and comes late, he has been struggling.
With Tilak and Sanju both expected to bat at Nos 4 and 5, they will have some job to do if there is a mini collapse, which can happen in any game.
Rinku Singh is a far better player of spin bowling compared to Tilak but, when it comes to the Indian team management over the years, the batting unit has been more about continuity.
Bangladesh's five-pronged bowling, which has Mustafizur, Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib as the three front-line pacers, is decent if not extraordinary.
Mustafizur, with years of IPL experience and variations in slow bowling, will certainly ask a few probing questions that Indian batters might need to answer.
Teams (from)
India: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Bangladesh: Litton Das (captain, wicketkeeper), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin.
Match starts: 8 pm IST.