India has only ever lost three one-day matches to its eastern neighbour; the same man has kept wicket on all three occasions.

It is a feeling Dhoni will not want to taste again. To him and India, Thursday’s World Cup quarterfinal here must seem like a thankless task: defeat would be humiliation before the world; victory would be met with a shrug for it is no more than is expected.

But that will not matter to Dhoni. His team will need no greater reward than a place in the semifinals, a step closer to the ultimate prize. Having won six out six, without the batting ever hitting top gear, India has nothing to fear.

The simple truth is that if India plays its best cricket, Bangladesh should be comfortably beaten. Whatever the nature of the pitch — Mashrafe Mortaza reckoned it would be flat, having played Sri Lanka on the same surface — Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav should hassle their opponents with the new ball, The Hindu reported.