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India v Bangladesh, quarter-final preview

Martin Smith looks at the key facts and figures heading into the MCG blockbuster

How they got here
India started their tournament with important wins over arch-rivals Pakistan and pool favourites South Africa and while they didn't exactly cruise through the rest of the preliminary stages, MS Dhoni has been thrilled with their preparation for the quarter-finals. Having secured an unexpected point thanks to a no result against Australia, Bangladesh secured their passage into the last eight with a famous win over England in Adelaide before they pushed New Zealand all the way in their final pool match.

Last time they met
In a remarkable match in Mirpur last year, India were skittled for just 107 but still won a rain-affected match by 47 runs. Taskin Ahmed took five wickets as India's batsmen crumbled having been sent into bat, bowled out in just the 26th over. But the target of 108 proved to be more than enough as Stuart Binny took the incredible figures of 6-4 from 4.4 overs to help dismiss Bangladesh for just 58 in reply.

Interestingly, Bangladesh have chosen to point out via their Twitter page they have beaten India twice in the month of March and never lost during that month to their quarter-final opponents.

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Players to watch
One of the form players of the tournament, Bangladesh batsman Mahmadullah comes into this match on the back of centuries against England and New Zealand. The right-hander has posted scores of 23, 28, 62, 103 and 128 not out and showed late in his innings against New Zealand that he has the big-hitting to match the composure and solid technique he's displayed throughout the tournament.

The strength of India's Cup campaign so far - their fast-bowling - has been led admirably by Mohammad Shami. The right-armer has taken 15 wickets from five matches, having missed the win over the UAE due to a knee injury, and has been particularly effective in the late overs. Ten of his 15 wickets have come in overs 35 or later, which has helped India restrict the big hitting of their opponents.

Key battle
India's quicks v Bangladesh lower order
: India have taken 17 wickets in the 28.3 overs they have bowled after the 40th over in this tournament, which has helped them restrict their opponents to chaseable targets. With India's star-studded top-order not always firing on all cylinders, Bangladesh will fancy their chances of victory if they manage to buck the trend and regularly find the boundary late in their innings.

Injury update
India are fighting fit after an interrupted build-up to the tournament, while Bangladesh skipper Mushrafe Mortaza was rested from their final pool match due to illness and a calf problem he picked up in the win against Scotland. But the injury wasn't serious enough to rule him out of the match against England so he's expected to play on Thursday.

Key stats
35 -
The number of wickets taken by Bangladesh in this tournament, 25 less than India, who have bowled out their opponents in every match they've played. While all four of India's strike bowlers have taken 10 wickets or more in the tournament, Bangladesh's leading wicket-takers are Shakib ul Hasan and Rubel Hossain with seven each from five matches.

10 - India's World Cup winning streak, which stretches back to their loss to South Africa on March 12, 2011. While well short of Australia's World Cup record of 34 matches unbeaten, India will be hoping to extend their winning run to 13 by the end of the tournament.

Venue
Both teams played one of their pool matches at the MCG; India thrashed South Africa in front of 86,000 fans while Bangladesh were thoroughly beaten by Sri Lanka. The venue for the final on March 29 has proven to be one for batting first so far in the tournament, with Australia (342), India (307) and Sri Lanka (332) all exceeding 300 in the first innings of the match.

Weather forecast
After a mostly sunny morning in Melbourne on Thursday, there's a high chance of showers in the afternoon and evening as well as a chance of a thunderstorm.

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