India will win the series: Saurav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly. File photo

Despite India’s humiliating 79-run defeat to Bangladesh in the first ODI, former Indian captain Saurav Ganguly opined that India will win the series.

“Though they have lost the first match, India will win the next two matches, and win the series,” Indian Bangla daily Anandabazar Patrika quoted the former Indian opener as saying.

“India should not have taken the team, who has defeated Pakistan in consecutive four matches, lightly,” Saurav said following India’s defeat at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Hindustan Times has termed India’s defeat as “Bangladesh take World Cup revenge.”

Saurav said, “Batsmen like Virat Kohli will have to take more responsibility. I believe they [Indian players] will overcome their mistakes and play better cricket in the next two matches.

“Rain will remain as an important factor. It is hard to tell anything until the full game is completed.”

The southpaw also opined that Bangladesh have improved a lot in cricket. “Bangladesh had been playing with defensive fielding strategy against big teams like India. Their trend has changed. They are playing with more attacking field set-up. Their bowling coach Heath Streak deserves the credit.”

Besides, Saurav also advised his follower Indian “captain cool” MS Dhoni to bat first if they win the tosses in the next matches.

“The sub-continental wickets get slow in the second innings, resulting in high difficulty to chase big targets. Batting first to put up a competitive target would be a better option.”

Meanwhile, the former Indian captain termed the Dhoni-Mustafizur incident “a silly accident”. He also observed that Dhoni was not at fault.