Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar (right) and Javed Omar during practice in Dhaka on Friday. (AP)

Dhaka: Winning is a habit and it breeds confidence. The Indians are out to do just that on this tour and the first steps in that direction were laid at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Thursday.

Ravi Shastri may be intent on counting on the positives, but he knows well that had India failed in a match that went down to the wire, they would have had to start from the scratch again. Thanks to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik, the smiles are back on their faces.

No doubt, the self-belief will hold the Indians in good stead. As they aim to wrap up the series on Saturday, Bangladesh will be under pressure to do justice to their World Cup form and rankings.

The difference showed in the two teams’ approach on Friday. The Indians decided to enjoy a rest day — a pool session in the morning was the only exception — while the hosts slogged it out in the late afternoon heat. More specifically, the onus was on Mashrafe Mortaza’s fitness.

The pacer is crucial to their plans and his wicket-taking ability has always given them the advantage in the opening overs. Bangladesh missed him in the opener, as Habibul Bashar admitted, and so the race against time to get him fit from a lower back strain.

“He is 80 per cent fit. Hopefully he will be available. We will make a final call in the morning,” the Bangladesh captain said.

The Indians cannot afford to relax as the home batsmen exposed the limitations in the first session. The bowling needs discipline and the fielding a fresh dose of energy.

Apart from Sreesanth, the others made the batsmen’s task easy by bowling to their strengths. There was hardly any show of variation or penetration in their deliveries. The experienced Zaheer Khan proved to be the biggest liability.

The fielding was pathetic and their body language hardly inspired awe in the batsmen’s minds. When athletic movement and sharp reflexes were the need of the hour, the Indians provided drooping shoulders and unimaginative field placings.

Rahul Dravid did little to boost the bowlers’ confidence. When Sreesanth and Munaf Patel should have been given longer spells, Dravid rung in changes that didn’t prove to be effective.

Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar had a discussion with Shastri and Dravid and it should come as no surprise if Rudra Pratap Singh is tried out on Saturday.

There was no communication from the Indians on Dhoni’s fitness. The wicketkeeper had battled severe cramps on way to his unbeaten 91. Amazingly, manager Surendra Bhave also pleaded ignorance.

It is, however, learnt that Dhoni had improved considerably by Friday. The Indians don’t want to take a risk and are keeping options open. It won’t come as a surprise if Karthik is asked to keep wickets and Dhoni played as a specialist batsman.

The Indians are worried about the intense heat and humidity. Physio John Gloster has been working overtime to keep the players hydrated. Besides Dhoni, Sreesanth also suffered cramps that restricted his quota of overs on Thursday. He though was fit by the evening.

It is important that Tamim Iqbal is sent back early to restrict the momentum of the innings. The Indians know that well, and if achieved, Bangladesh will find the going tough. The city was lashed by a downpour in the evening and the forecast predicts intermittent showers on Saturday too.

TEAMS

India (from): Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Dinesh Mongia, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh, Robin Uthappa.

Bangladesh (from): Javed Omar, Tamim Iqbal, Habibul Bashar, Mohammed Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Abdur Razzak, Farhad Reza, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammed Rafik, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel.

Umpires: Asoka de Silva and Enamul Haque; TV: FM Akhtaruddin.

Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama.

Match starts: 9am (IST).