Dhaka, May 11:

An upbeat India, having registered a battling win in the first one-day international, will be looking to seal the three-match series when they clash with Bangladesh in the second encounter on Saturday.

After their five-wicket win in trying conditions at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium at Mirpur on Thursday, India, especially Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who scored a match-winning unbeaten 91, will be keen to put Bangladesh in their place before travelling to Chittagong for the third ODI.

Now, the onus and pressure is on Habibul Bashar’s team to level the series and keep it alive. Bangladesh missed strike bowler Mashrafe Mortaza on Thursday who was suffering from a back spasm.

India’s confidence is high, but as captain Rahul Dravid pointed out, there are areas that need improvement. Former India captain Ravi Shastri, the team’s interim cricket manager on this tour, is also bullish about his team’s capabilities and their resolve to fight in adverse conditions.

“Bangladesh will have to play better cricket now if they want to beat India,” said Shastri.

One area of concern for India would be the bowling department. The six-man attack looked unimpressive as Javed Omar (80 runs), Tamim Iqbal (45) and Sakibul Hasan (50) batted with confidence against them.

India’s win also underlined the point that if batsmen were determined, the worst conditions could be overcome, and that is what Dhoni and Karthik proved. Both Dravid and Dhoni said the morning conditions were not conducive for fielding.

Dhoni, who kept wickets for 47 overs in the morning, batted for over three hours, mostly with cramps in his legs, in the afternoon. Dhoni took a runner quite early in his innings and Yuvraj Singh did a good job in that role.

Bangladesh will be hoping that Mortaza is inspired by Dhoni and will try to play the match even with some niggling problems.