Does Bangladesh stand a chance to win their World Cup game against an imposing India at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune today?

Strength and statistics would heavily speak in favour of the hosts, who won their first three games, including comfortable wins against five-time champions Australia and bitter rivals Pakistan.

The Tigers, on the other hand, lost their way after an impressive victory in their opening game against Afghanistan. They suffered heavy defeats against defending champions England and runners-up New Zealand.

Besides, Bangladesh have not won a World Cup game against the two-time champions ever since their famous exploits in the 2007 edition in the West Indies despite the fact that their one-day fortunes have progressed by leaps and bounds, especially since 2015.

Bangladesh have won three of their last four ODIs against India, including the last one in the recently-held Asia Cup.

However, that five-wicket win at Port of Spain in Trinidad 15 years ago is still more relevant going into today's game because upsets have been the order of this World Cup over the last few days, with Afghanistan stunning England by 69 runs on Sunday and the Netherlands flooring South Africa by 38 runs (D/L method) two days later.

The win in Port of Spain was the first spark that eventually defined Bangladesh's progress and their future battles against India. 

India were very disappointed after that chastening defeat that knocked them out of the World Cup from the group stage. It was quite evident when the men in blue toured Bangladesh after the tournament, with Ravi Shastri as the interim head coach.

Upon his arrival in Dhaka for two Tests and three ODIs, Shastri had said, "We will take no prisoners."

His remarks at that time probably played some role in Bangladesh gradually becoming more competitive. Although the Tigers lost the last two World Cup games against their neighbours, those contests were far from being lopsided.

This time around, the Bangladesh fans will expect another fight from the players against their vastly decorated opposition. They will expect their misfiring openers to come to the party and the pacers to produce something special to upset the India applecart.

More importantly, they will desperately want to see captain Shakib Al Hasan, who was nursing a thigh injury that he sustained in the last game against New Zealand, fit for the game and lead the team from the front.

Bangladesh have already earned the nickname of a 'noisy neighbour' from the Indian ranks because of its strong and passionate fan following. In Pune, the home fans will dominate the stands, but one can rest assured that there will be plenty of Bangladesh fans out there with their full-throttled support.