Bangladesh vs India Preview: India look to bounce back whilst Bangladesh hope to stay alive

Bangladesh will be hoping for celebrations against India.

Asian neighbours India and Bangladesh will square-off in a crucial World Cup 2019 encounter when they meet at Edbaston, Birmingham on July 2.

India, whose unbeaten run was brought to a halt by a resurgent England in their last match at the same ground two days ago, need just one win in their next 2 matches to seal a semi-final spot. Their opponents on Tuesday however, can't settle for anything less than a win in the couple of games remaining to have a shot at making it to the last-4.

Last time, these 2 sides met in the World Cup, India thrashed Bangladesh by 109 runs at the MCG. They have only met each other on 2 other occasions at the sport's biggest stage - 2007 and 2011, with Bangladesh emerging winners in the former while also knocking out India in the league stage. In 2011 however, Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli hit twin centuries to exact sweet revenge.

This will be the 1st time that the 2 sides will face each other in ODIs after the thrilling final of the Asia Cup in 2018 when India just managed to scrape past their opponents in a low-scoring game.

Bangladesh would no doubt be looking to reverse this trend as they look to enhance their reputation of being serious contenders at World events. Having beaten sides like West Indies and South Africa already at this World Cup, Bangladesh have proved that they are not minnows anymore.

Mashrafe Mortaza's men will also know that India have a few weaknesses that can be exploited, for instance their fragile looking middle-order which came a cropper against England in the last match. With MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav struggling for form and the uncertainty regarding India's No. 4 position (set to be occupied by Rishabh Pant), Bangladesh already have some homework to do before they take the field on Tuesday.

But Bangladesh have inner battles to fight before targetting India's problems as the team has had a reputation of throwing away games from winning positions against India in the recent past - be it the 2016 World T20, the Nidahas Trophy or the aforementioned Asia Cup final.

No matter who comes out on top in the end, one thing is for sure: the game will not be short on entertainment as fans from both the sides are expected to flood the stands at Edgbaston. WATCH OUT FOR - MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni hits out against England and will be hoping for a more productive time at the crease.

MS Dhoni was lambasted from pillar to post by cricket pundits and fans for his failure to deliver India a record run chase in their last World Cup encounter. Those criticisms were somewhat harsh on Dhoni, who compared to Kohli and Sharma, batted particularly well at well over a run a ball. If players above him had batted with the same intent, there is no doubt India would have won the match. Expect Dhoni to silence the critics against Bangladesh. PREDICTION

With England's stumbles in recent matches India had firmed to be the unbeatable favourites in the competition. Then they stumbled. To England. Before that, Bangladesh were pushing for an unlikely semi-finals spot, and although it's still a possibility, the chances have become slimmer. This game will be a high quality contest with plenty on the line for both sides, but expect India to get the job done here.

India to win by 50-70 runs / 4-5 wickets STATISTICS HEAD TO HEAD ODI Matches: 35 Bangladesh: 5

India: 29 N/R: 1

HEAD TO HEAD IN WORLD CUPS

Matches: 3 Bangladesh: 1

India: 2

WORLD CUP RECORDS

Bangladesh

Matches: 37

Won: 14

Lost: 22

Best Result - Quarter Final (2015)

India

Matches: 81

Won: 51

Lost: 28

Best Result - Winners (1983, 2011)

England

Matches: 79

Won: 45

Lost: 32

Best Result- Runners Up (1979, 1987, 1992)

ODI Record since World Cup 2015:

India

Matches: 92

Won: 61

Lost: 28

Bangladesh

Matches: 68

Won: 37

Lost: 27