India will meet Bangladesh in the Cricket World Cup opener on Saturday with twin objectives of confirm their status as contest favourites and earning a slice of vengeance from their upstart neighbours. India will be out to punish the defeat by Bangladesh that led to their eventual departure at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean from the opening group stage.
"We know... we lost against them and we have been waiting for the moment when we will play against them in this World Cup," Indian opener Virender Sehwag said, hinting what to expect in the first match of the 10th World Cup featuring the co-hosts at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Bangladesh, however, are unlikely to be obliging victims."We have to beat teams above us in the one-day rankings. We need to beat one of the big teams," Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons said, his eyes by now on the knockout stage. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has declared left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan, battling a shoulder injury, fit for the match.
Both the captains would be wary of the dew factor, which makes bowling with a wet ball in the second innings such a headache, particularly for the spinners in the day/night match. Fans also expect it to be an attractive duel between India's big-hitting batsmen and the home team's miserly spinners. The tournament features 14 teams split into two opening round-robin groups. The top four from each will go through to the quarter-finals with the final being held in Mumbai on April 2.
"We know... we lost against them and we have been waiting for the moment when we will play against them in this World Cup," Indian opener Virender Sehwag said, hinting what to expect in the first match of the 10th World Cup featuring the co-hosts at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Bangladesh, however, are unlikely to be obliging victims."We have to beat teams above us in the one-day rankings. We need to beat one of the big teams," Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons said, his eyes by now on the knockout stage. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has declared left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan, battling a shoulder injury, fit for the match.
Both the captains would be wary of the dew factor, which makes bowling with a wet ball in the second innings such a headache, particularly for the spinners in the day/night match. Fans also expect it to be an attractive duel between India's big-hitting batsmen and the home team's miserly spinners. The tournament features 14 teams split into two opening round-robin groups. The top four from each will go through to the quarter-finals with the final being held in Mumbai on April 2.
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