IND vs BAN, 1st T20: Young Team India Take On Shakib-less Bangladesh In Men Cricket's 1000th T20I Match

Going by the head to head record between the two teams, India go into the encounter as overwhelming favourites enjoying an unbeatable winning streak against the 'Bangla Tigers'.

Rohit Sharma led Indian team will lock horns against sub continent rivals Bangladesh in the series opener of the 3-match T20 series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi later in the day. The series opener at Delhi will also be a landmark match in men's international cricket as it would be the 1000th T20I in men's cricket overall. The match is scheduled to commence at 7 pm (IST). The opening encounter at Delhi is slated to be played on Sunday evening despite the national capital region engulfed by severe pollution levels causing the air quality to deteriorate to hazardous levels. Going by the head to head record between the two teams, India go into the encounter as overwhelming favourites enjoying an unbeatable winning streak against the 'Bangla Tigers'. The 'Men in Blue' have won all eight of their previous T2O internationals against Bangladesh in the shortest format. The opening rubber of the series would be only the second encounter between the two teams on Indian soil. The hosts won the previous encounter between the two sides played in their backyard. With seasoned skipper skipper Virat Kohli being rested, stand-in captain Rohit Sharma will don the captaincy hat and and ensure his side's dominant run versus the 'Bangla Tigers'. Meanwhile, Bangladesh too have a change of guard at the top with their regular skipper Shakib Al Hassan missing out on account of being handed a ban by the ICC for not reporting multiple match-fixing approaches. In Shakib's absence, all-rounder Mahmudullah steps in as the captain for Bangladesh. With Bangladesh missing on the services of a couple of senior players in Shakib Al Hasan and opener Tamim Iqbal, the visitors would look for their experienced campaigners in Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahim and to spearhead the challenge against a relatively young Indian side. Meanwhile hosts India also have a new look to their side. There are a couple of spots which are up for the taking both in the batting and bowling. While the regular opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma will resume duties at the top of the order, the middle order could see the likes of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Sanju Samson giving it their best shot with the willow to cement a spot in the T20 team. In the absence of injured Jasprit Bumrah and the experienced Mohammad Shami, there would a keen contest between young seamers like Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Chahar and Shardul Thakur in the playing eleven. Squads: India: Rohit Sharma (c), Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Krunal Pandya, Rishabh Pant, K L Rahul, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur. Bangladesh: Mahmudullah Riyad (C), Taijul Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Kumer Das, Soumya Sarker, Naim Sheikh, Mushfiqur Rahhim, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Aminul Islam Biplob, Arafat Sunny, Abu Hider, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and Shafiul Islam.