Mashrafe Mortaza Bangladesh MS Dhoni India
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza and India skipper MS Dhoni with the ODI series trophyIANS

"Rain rain go away, come again another day" will probably be the song sung most often from Thursday afternoon in Mirpur, with the elements again threatening to ruin the India vs Bangladesh cricketing spectacle.

The Rain Gods were the biggest factors in the only Test match between the sides last week, and the same problem remains heading into the ODI series, starting with the 1st ODI at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.

Rains played such a big part that it was more frustration than admiration in the Test match, and even if a reserve day has been scheduled for all three of the one -dayers, to be played at the same venue, it remains to be seen if we will get even one full 100-over match.

The plan is to finish off the match on the scheduled days, with the game spilling over only if even the Duckworth-Lewis-invoked ones cannot be completed.

So, expect phases where you will be glued to the monitors, hoping for a rain update, wondering if there will be a resumption of the match or not.

If, fingers crossed, the rains decide to stay away just outside Dhaka on Thursday, then we could be in for a cracker of a contest, with Bangladesh having their tails firmly pointed north in the ODI format after whitewashing Pakistan in a recent series.

Bangladesh threatened to spoil the India World Cup party in the quarterfinals earlier this year as well, and while they could not quite get over the line, the fact that the Indian selectors have sent a full-strength side, led by the ODI skipper MS Dhoni, says it all.

Kohli seemed to revel in the permanent Test captaincy role, and now it will be back to the more familiar Dhoni to weave his magic in the format he loves the most.

The fact that the team is pretty much the ones that lost in the semifinal stage to Australia should help in terms of continuity, but India do have concerns over their lower-middle order. Ravindra Jadeja seems to have forgotten the art of batting, and with his bowling prowess also tailing off a touch of late, the all-rounder problem remains for India.

"No. 7 in particular is very crucial," Dhoni said. "The reason being the No. 7 batsman for you, 90% of the time, has to bowl you 10 overs. So we are still looking [for the perfect fit].

"Jadeja has done a decent job. Over the last couple of years I don't think our bottom order has got a lot of opportunity to bat, especially in the subcontinent. The top order has done a remarkable job."

Dhoni will hope home conditions will see Jadeja find his rhythm again, although going by the left-armer's form in the IPL, it certainly is not a given. The top order will be crucial for India, with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli as formidable a top three in ODI cricket in subcontinental conditions as anybody.

Bangladesh, if they want to threaten India, will have to dismiss those three early, and that task will be given to Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain, two impressive bowlers of late for the home team in the ODI format.

If Taskin and Rubel can dismiss Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli early and get into the sometimes iffy middle order, Bangladesh could be in with a shot of trumping India, much like they did against Pakistan.

Expected lineups: India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (capt), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Arafat Sunny, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed.

Where to Watch Live

Watch video of MS Dhoni shoulder charging Mustafizur football-style HERE

Get the Story on Virat Kohli keeping Wickets HERE

Get the Score Update of the 1st ODI Match HERE

Bangladesh vs India 1st ODI Match is scheduled for a 3 pm local time (2.30 pm IST, 10 am BST, 5 am ET) start with live coverage in India on DD National, Star Sports1 and Star Sports3 and the respective HD channels. Viewers in Bangladesh can also catch the match on the Star Sports network along with the other countries in the subcontinent, with the hosts also able to catch the action on GTV.

The live streaming option for viewers in India, Bangladesh and the rest of the subcontinent is Star Sports online.

Audience in the US can catch all the match action (rain permitting of course) on Willow TV, with the live stream option on Willow TV Online.

Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can watch India vs Bangladesh live on OSN Sports Cricket, while the match can also be live streamed on OSN Play.