A dominant India cruised into the final with three convincing victories in a row, but Bangladesh will also be high on confidence following their thrilling victory against Sri Lanka in their last league match.
Bangladesh thumped England in a bowler-dominated contest after home skipper Mashrafe Mortaza's all-round brilliance secured their series-levelling 34-run victory in the second One-day International on Sunday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Bangladesh bowling coach Heath Streak wants young pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman to be looked after and supported well so that he can grow into a big match-winner.
Having suffered an unexpected defeat against Sri Lanka in their tournament-opener, it is highly unlikely that India will experiment against a resurgent Bangladesh in their final league stage match.
India's inexperienced cricket team will have to recover quickly from the eye-opening loss to Sri Lanka and lift its game by a few notches against an unpredictable Bangladesh in the Nidahas Twenty20 Trophy, in Colombo, on Thursday.
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
Photos of the World Cup Pool A game between England and Bangladesh being played at Adelaide
The toe-crusher is hitting the target, the bouncer is coming out well and, most importantly, the wicket column is swelling again.
Sri Lanka veterans Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara smashed imperious centuries to punish a wasteful Bangladesh.
Having outplayed Bangladesh 'A' in all the departments in the first unofficial ODI, an upbeat India 'A' will be looking to keep the winning momentum.
Recalled batsman Neil Broom scored his maiden one-day century and took two crucial catches as New Zealand completed a 67-run victory over Bangladesh in the second one-day international at Saxton Oval in Nelson on Thursday.
Ashish Nehra has contributed significantly to the Indian team's recent success in Twenty 20s, and the old warhorse says he is enjoying his role of a mentor in the fast bowling department.
Debutants Oman dished out a resolute batting effort to register a nerve-wracking, two-wicket win over experienced Ireland in their Group A qualifying match of the ICC World Twenty20, in Dharamsala on Wednesday.
Riding high on contrasting half-centuries from Shakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh crushed Afghanistan by 105 runs in their opening Pool A match of the World Cup in Canberra.
As far as Bangladesh were concerned, there was nothing worth mentioning except for a fifty each from captain Mushfiqur Rahim (59) and Shakib Al Hasan (52), the latter emerging as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) on account of his all-round showing in the series as he also claimed six wickets with his left-arm spin.
The third ODI between India and Bangladesh was called off after heavy showers rendered the ground unfit for play in Mirpur on Thursday.
Splendid bowling by Stuart Binny and Mohit Sharma helped India beat Bangladesh by 47 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method, in a rain-curtailed second One-day International, and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
After his phenomenal bowling performance, -- 13 wickets at an economy rate of 5.1 -- which proved vital in Bangladesh's first ever ODI series win over India, it is not a surprise that Mustafizur Rahman is the most valuable player (MVP) of the three-match series.
Wicket-less in the first three Twenty20 Internationals of his career, Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa is happy to get the monkey off his back after snapping three wickets against Bangladesh in the ICC World Twenty20 match in Bengaluru on Monday.
Their arrival itself was mired in drama and a mercurial Pakistan would look to bring the focus back on their cricket when they take on an enigmatic Bangladesh.
Captain Virat Kohli and opener Murali Vijay pulverised a hapless Bangladesh attack into submission with majestic hundreds as India reached a commanding 356 for three on Day 1 of the one-off Test match.
Demoralised Bangladesh will look to end their campaign on a high when they face a rampaging New Zealand.
Bangladesh shocked New Zealand by five wickets to keep their hopes alive of making it to the semi-finals at the ICC Champions Trophy in Cardiff, on Friday.
Gurkeerat Singh's all-round brilliance enabled India 'A' thrash Bangladesh 'A' by 96 runs in the first One-dayer of the three-match series, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday. The talented Punjab youngster first contributed a quickfire 58-ball 65 to ensure a commanding total of 322 for 7 for the hosts and then bowled his off-breaks effectively to return figures of 5 for 29 in 7.3 overs as the visitors were dismissed for 226 in 42.3 overs.
India will look for another colossal victory and inch closer to the semi-finals when they square off against an embattled Bangladesh.
Check out the statistical highlights of the first cricket One-day international between India and Bangladesh.
Penpix of the Bangladesh squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmdullah finished as the MVP in the recently-concluded Asia Cup T20 tournament ahead of compatriot Sabbir Rahman, who was named as the man of the series. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present the latest edition of the MVP rankings.
Bangladesh defeated India by 79 runs in the first One-day international in Mirpur on Thursday.
Defending champions India cantered into the semi-finals of the cricket World Cup after a thumping -- victory over Bangladesh at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Rohit Sharma slammed a quickfire 83 to power India to a comprehensive 45-run victory against Bangladesh in the first match of the Asia Cup T20 tournament in Dhaka, on Wednesday.
India captain Virat Kohli reclaimed the top batting spot, while Australia's pace ace Josh Hazlewood has achieved the number-one position in the bowlers' rankings for the first time in his career in the latest MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings.
'...then Bangladesh would have been the world champions a long time ago!'
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
As the top 10 teams prepare to battle for the World T20 crown, Rajneesh Gupta breaks down each squad's T20 performance and their showing in previous editions of the event.
'Probably because he was aware that this was his 100th ODI. Or probably because, in the first of its knock-out games, his team had produced the sort of all-round display that induces smiles.'
Prem Panicker, a keen follower of the game and one of cricket's finest writers, interacted with readers on the Rediff World Cup Chat.
It looks highly unlikely if anyone will catch the South African captain in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
Although A B de Villiers is still the front-runner for the MVP crown of the 2015 World Cup, a new and serious challenger has suddenly appeared out of the blue -- New Zealand opener Martin Guptill.