The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 so far has had some unexpected outcomes. While former champions Australia and New Zealand have been knocked out of the tournament, lowly ranked Bangladesh and Pakistan have found places in the semis.
Three of the top five ranked teams – South Africa, Australia, New Zealand – are heading home while world No.6 Bangladesh and No.8 Pakistan now have a chance at reaching the finals.
With one win and one loss, India beat South Africa in the virtual ‘quarter-final’ on 11 June to set up a semi-final match against Bangladesh.
Ahead of the India’s do-or-die tie on Thursday, 15 June, here’s a look at the last five India vs Bangladesh clashes.
17 June 2014, India Won by 47 Runs
India’s tour of Bangladesh in 2014 was held immediately after the IPL and before India played England in a five-match Test and three-match ODI series. Majority of the senior cricketers including MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli had been rested and Suresh Raina led team India in the three One Day Internationals.
The conditions in Dhaka during the series were quite similar to the kind in England currently. With the first two games curtailed due to rain and the third one abandoned, India beat Bangladesh by 47 runs via the D/L method in the second match at Dhaka to seal the series.
Stuart Binny returned with India’s best-ever figures of 6/4 in 4.4 overs while Mohit Sharma picked up four wickets in 8 overs.
19 March 2015, India Won by 109 Runs
After topping their pool with six wins and no losses, MS Dhoni-led India set up a quarter-final clash against Bangladesh in the 2015 ICC World Cup.
Opting to bat, India put up a total of 302 courtesy Rohit Sharma’s 137 off 126 and Suresh Raina’s 65. Interestingly, Virat Kohli had been dismissed for a paltry 3 and the skipper added just 6 runs to India’s total.
The brilliant Indian bowlers (four of the six in the current ODI squad) then bowled the Bangladeshis all out for 193. Umesh Yadav returned with figures of 4/31 in 9 overs, while Shami and Jadeja picked up two wickets each.
The defending champions, however, crashed out after losing to Australia by 95 runs in the semi-final.
18 June 2015, Bangladesh Won by 79 Runs
India’s tour of Bangladesh in 2015 consisted of one Test and three ODIs. And unlike the ongoing Champions Trophy, the hosts were smart enough to allocate a reserve day for each match since the monsoon season was on.
Bangladesh’s Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and decided to bat first. With three batsmen scoring half-centuries, the hosts were bundled out for 307 – their highest total against India in ODIs.
Barring a 95-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, the Indians put up a horrible batting display and were bowled out for 228. Now a seasoned fast bowler, Mustafizur Rahman took a five-wicket haul on debut in the game.
21 June 2015, Bangladesh Won by 6 Wickets
After a poor performance in the previous game, India dropped Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma for the second ODI against Bangladesh. Instead, Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel and Dhawal Kulkarni were included while the hosts remained unchanged.
Choosing to bat first, India were bowled out in 45 overs for a paltry 200 runs. Mustafizur took a five-wicket haul on his second consecutive game.
The hosts achieved the target with relative ease in 38 overs, losing only four wickets on the way. With this win, Bangladesh sealed their first ever bilateral series win against India and qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy.
24 June 2015, India Won by 77 Runs
In the inconsequential last ODI of the three-match series, Bangladesh won the toss and put India in to bat first.
Dhawan’s 75 and Dhoni’s 69 helped the visitors post a challenging 317 in their 50 overs. The Indian bowlers seemed to finally get their act together, removing all the Bangladeshis for 240 in 47 overs.
With the 77-run victory, India avoided what would have been an embarrassing whitewash and put an end to Bangladesh’s winning streak at home over 10 matches.