India seek revenge against Bangladesh in World Cup opener
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Title aspirants India will have revenge on their minds when they launch their 2011 cricket World Cup campaign against co-hosts Bangladesh in the tournament-opener here tomorrow, fully aware that any slip-up could prove costly.
Minnows Bangladesh had ensured India's early exit in the first round of the 2007 edition at the Caribbeans and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men will be eagar to settle the score and kick start their campaign on a positive note at the Shere Bangla national stadium.
Tipped as one of the favourites, the current world number two side, boasts off an exceptionally balanced team, but such a pool of talented players will also pose a few selection questions for skipper Dhoni.
Dhoni though seems to have sorted out his problem of plenty in the batting department when he tipped Virat Kohli ahead of Suresh Raina after their second warm up match against New Zealand.
"The number four slot is very important for us. Right now it is a slot war. It is the number four slot where Kohli needs to bat with Gautam Gambhir at number three," Dhoni said.
"Kohli is sort of a player who likes to spend little bit of time early and then go after the bowlers. Still, there is a bit of chance where Virat may get an edge over (Suresh) Raina seeing the current form he is in," he added.
Dhoni also hinted that he would stand by Yuvraj Singh as his ability to spin the ball away makes him an asset to the team even though currently he is a bit short of runs.
"We are playing with four bowlers. A part-time spinner is really important especially if it is a left-arm away going spinner. That's the one big advantage he (Yuvraj) has got over others," Dhoni said.
The explosive batting line-up will be marshalled by Sachin Tendulkar, who would be participating in his sixth World Cup this time around and the senior batsmen will look to give India a flying start with Virender Sehwag.
Gautam Gambhir will be next, while the middle-order also looks rock solid with Kohli, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Yusuf Pathan — all capable of playing big-shots and also rotating the strike.
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