India enter their Super 4 clash with Bangladesh as overwhelming favourites  their recent T20I record against Bangladesh is near-faultless, with 16 wins out of 17 matches. Statistically, there’s a huge gulf. India’s batters have been in red-hot form this tournament, and their spin attack remains one of the sharpest. Meanwhile, Bangladesh have shown signs of resurgence in Asia Cup 2025: they beat Sri Lanka in their Super Four opener, and their bowlers, particularly spinners, have been more disciplined. Though India dominate the head-to-head, Bangladesh’s confidence is visibly up. But confidence alone won’t be enough without execution under pressure.

Bangladesh’s strength lies largely in their bowling variety and tactical adaptability. They boast a spin-friendly arsenal ideal for UAE-style pitches: left-arm spin, wrist spin, and death-over cutters that can exploit slower decks. Key bowlers like Nasum Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman make them dangerous in both the early and late phases. On the batting front, they have reliable top and middle-order players like Litton Das and some explosive performances in recent matches. If their bowlers strike early, especially in India’s powerplay, Bangladesh possibly can choke runs, build pressure, and produce an upset.

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Can Bangladesh Bite Back?

There are obvious flaws that Bangladesh must remedy before they can seriously challenge India as an opponent. Their powerplay bowling has been expensive in recent matches allowing the opposition strong starts. Their lower-middle order (positions 5-8) continues to underperform, either unable to accelerate the innings when required or steady the innings after early wickets have fallen. Against India, this gets amplified as India’s top order is ruthless. Every error made by Bangladesh, be it missed wickets, loose deliveries, or poor fielding, will be exacerbated because India is extremely proficient when batting. In fact, to test India, Bangladesh will need to put out their A-game simultaneously in all departments.

In comparison, India’s experience, depth, and mental strength makes the them the clear favorites. Suryakumar Yadav and Abhishek Sharma are both in superb form and India’s spin attack, Kuldeep, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar, will relish these conditions. Conversely, Bangladesh will have to contend with sub-optimal leadership without being at full strength, and reports indicate Litton Das is injured, which may throw plans into disarray. Further, India’s recent dominance over Bangladesh including a comprehensive win in the last match adds to the psychological pressure. Ultimately, Bangladesh has to believe - and start with a disciplined, brave performance.

While there is no doubt that Bangladesh can play near-perfect cricket, surprises can always happen. Their bowling attack has a good enough arsenal to make early inroads and their recent win over Sri Lanka shows that they can handle some pressure. But for now, India are very heavy favourites. Unless Bangladesh can fix their batting depth and tighten up their powerplay containment, they may remain dark horses by name only. This match will show how much Bangladesh have progressed and if they can legitimately challenge India at this Asia Cup.

After scoring 154/5 in the must-win Asia Cup 2025 fixture against Afghanistan, Bangladesh got a perfect start with a wicket in the second innings.

It is a must-win game for Bangladesh to stay in the contest for the Super Fours qualification in the Asia Cup 2025, as a defeat in their last game of the Group B against Afghanistan will confirm their group stage exit from the tournament. Meanwhile, they will stay in the contest with a victory in this match, while Afghanistan’s defeat against Sri Lanka in the last game of Group B will guide the Tigers to the Super Fours stage. But if Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka, the net run rate will come into play as all these three teams will have four points each. Currently, Bangladesh are well behind in the net run rate. 

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Nasum Ahmed dismissed Sediqullah Atal for a golden duck

Chasing down the 155-run target, Afghanistan got a blow on the first ball of the innings, as their opener Sediqullah Atal, who scored Afghanistan’s highest runs 73 not out in their first game of the tournament against Hong Kong, was dismissed for a golden duck. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed started the innings with the ball, and he successfully managed to trap the Afghan opener. It was a flighted good length delivery on the stumps, while the ball skidded on, and Atal completely failed to handle that ball at the back foot. It hit on his pad, and it was a plumb, while Atal did not doubt, as he didn’t waste a review. Afghanistan scored their first run in the innings after nine dot deliveries, as their first run came from a wide delivery. 

Nasum Ahmed traps Atal in front on the very first ball of the innings 🔥

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Bangladesh struggled in second half of their innings

Talking about Bangladesh's innings, their openers Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan set a great platform with a 63-run partnership for the first wicket. While Saif scored 30 off 28 balls, Tanzid scored 52 off 31 balls. Apart from them, only Towhid Hridoy (26) managed to reach the 20-run mark in that innings. Bangladesh recorded 67/4 in the last 10 overs, as Afghan spinners dominated in the second half.