When the Indian players take the field against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy semifinal on Thursday, there would be a familiar feel to it for them. In the last major ICC ODI tournament, the World Cup 2015, India took on the same side in their first knockout match after a successful run in group stage including convincing victories over Pakistan and South Africa.
In the World Cup quarterfinal of 2015, India trounced Bangladesh thanks to a hundred from Rohit Sharma. This time around both he and his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan have shown splendid form and look all set to continue troubling the bowlers.
Shikhar Dhawan has enjoyed his time in ICC tournaments, notching up a 1000 runs in them faster than anyone else. Rohit Sharma would feel that he should have got atleast one century in the tournament so far after the good starts that he got in previous matches but with good memories against Bangladesh, he would fancy his chances.
India's middle-order looks solid with Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni all having made some valuable contributions for the team during the course of the tournament.
Kedar Jadhav is the only batsmen yet to get a good knock but Hardik Pandya's cameo against Pakistan has boosted India's firepower in the batting department.
A lot was expected of Indian bowlers as many experts believed that unlike Indian teams of the past, this side was endowed with a very capable bowling line-up. The pundits have been vindicated to a large extent with the bowlers delivering handsomely in two out of the three matches of the group stage.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is living up to his reputation as a swing bowler perfectly suited to English conditions rather well. His discipline with the line and length and his ability to maintain an upright seam for movement in the air has proven advantageous to India.
He has been ably assisted by Jasprit Bumrah who came into this tournament regarded as a death overs specialist but has shown that he could bowl tightly during other parts of the innings also.
The spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin is doing their job with a great deal of efficiency. Jadeja's impeccable control of line and length and Ashwin's wiles combined beautifully against South Africa to make life difficult for them. If the pitches are dry, these two would form a potent threat again.
The only weak link in the bowling unit is the all-rounder Hardik Pandya who is yet to show the same ability with the ball that he has displayed with the bat. He could get away with respectable figures if frontline bowlers do well and put batsmen under pressure but if they don't then he will have to do much better than his performances so far.
India go into this match as clear favourites but Bangladesh have shown that taking them lightly is full of peril. There is some history between the two sides that has developed over the last couple of years and Bangladesh are no longer lacking in confidence against their neighbours. This match could be a great chapter in the evolving rivalry between the two sides.