India have won the toss and have asked Bangladesh to take strike in their Champions Trophy semi-final at Edgbaston.
In a tournament full of surprises, perhaps there’s none more so than Bangladesh reaching their first-ever semi-final in a major tournament. Despite losing their opener to England, rain saved them against Australia, and unlike the Aussies, they managed to win when it really counted, pulling off a remarkable chase against New Zealand to seal an unlikely second place in Group A.
Now they come up against the tournament favourites. India didn’t start the competition as the favourites, but only Bangladesh and Pakistan, who they thrashed in their group-stage opener, stand in the defending champions’ way. From a neutral’s perspective, another India vs Pakistan battle would be quite a spectacle if the atmosphere from their group-stage clash was anything to go by, but who would begrudge a spot in the final for minnows Bangladesh, who have improved their one-day cricket drastically over the past two years.
Birmingham has been plagued by persistent drizzle throughout the tournament, and despite some sun around this morning, there’s more drizzle and grey skies about. Let’s hope it clears up, as it’s expected to. Both sides, as expected, keep unchanged sides to their respective victories over New Zealand and South Africa.
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INDIA: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah
BANGLADESH: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sardar, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mossadek Hossain, Moshrafe Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
