The numbers put India on top, but...

A 13-2 win-loss record in all ODIs, and a 7-1 margin in the eight games played in Bangladesh would suggest that India are the overwhelming favourites going into their three-match series, which starts on Thursday in Dhaka. Of course, those who have followed the recent fortunes of both teams will know that isn't quite true: Bangladesh knocked India out of the World Cup, and themselves progressed to the Super Eights, where they also beat South Africa.

As Rahul Dravid has pointed out, though, Bangladesh have improved significantly: they had a serious chance of beating Australia in a Test match last year, and were only denied by a captain's knock by Ricky Ponting. They've won two of their last three ODIs against India, and while they missed out on winning opportunities more than once in the past, recently they've experienced victories far more often than ever before: in their first 125 matches they won only 15 - a win percentage of 12, but in their last 33 games they've won 21, which is a win percentage of 64. Most of them have been against the lesser teams, but the confidence of scoring the winning run or taking the final wicket has clearly done the team plenty of good.

When you just compare the numbers, though, India emerge well on top, as you'd expect when the head-to-head between two teams is as lopsided as 13-2. Cricinfo looks at some of the significant numbers from the ODIs between the two teams - if Bangladesh play to their potential, the numbers should look slightly less one-sided once this series is through.