Dhoni & co in town

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and seven other players joined the Indian team in Dhaka yesterday evening. Certain members of the Test team on the other hand were given a celebratory send off as the entire team went out for dinner late night.

India's team manager Biswarup Dey described the draw in the lone Test at Fatullah as a 'moral victory' for the visitors and reckoned it was reason enough to have some fun.

"Team India decided to go out last night. We decided to celebrate because of the good performance. Some of the Test players are leaving and so it was also the last day with all the players together," said Dey.

Apart from Dhoni, the other players to arrive yesterday include Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Suresh Raina, Mohit Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni and Ambati Rayudu.

The last time India played a bilateral ODI series in Bangladesh was in June 2014. Back then, India, led by Raina, won the series 2-0. That series was also affected by rain and as a result, the third and last ODI had to be cancelled.

The rain, combined with Bangladesh's ploy to spice up the wickets of Mirpur with pace and bounce, led to two low scoring affairs. India won the first ODI on Duckworth-Lewis method. The second match saw them getting bundled out for just a 105. The hosts though had to suffer the ignominy of getting bowled for just 58. Taskin Ahmed, who made his debut in that game, took a five-wicket haul. But that was overshadowed by Stuart Binny, who bowled the best ODI figures, 6 for 4, by an Indian.

Whether the pacers will get as much help this time around as well remains a question. However, regardless of the pitch, with the kind of form both the teams are in, the series has the potential to be the most competitive till date.