Mortaza not sure if India vs Bangladesh is ‘the greatest’
BIRMINGHAM What does Bangladesh do when they play their first major international at the semifinal stage of a world cricket tournament? “Hope for the best, of course”, said skipper Mashrafe Mortaza in his pre-match media chat on Wednesday.
Mortaza, the veteran speedster, said Bangladesh’s biggest challenge at Edgbaston on Thursday will be to keep “excitement under check” and play India as if it were a “bilateral game”.
Saying there was great hype around the clash, he said “not Bangladesh, India are the team under pressure. Of course there is expectation in Bangladesh, but India will be under more pressure because of their huge population.”
Mortaza was not sure if the match against India was the “biggest”. With a hint of disdain, he said: “I’ve been answering that question since World Cup 2015. But playing in the best eight and in the semifinal, obviously there is a big hype. You can say, but I’m not sure...”
Bangladesh are naturally emboldened by the fact that they have run India close in recent times. But their lack of experience in winning pressure games has hurt them, the one-run WT20 loss in March 2016 a case in point.
With Bangladesh needing 10 runs off five balls in a gripping final over by Hardik Pandya, Mushfiqur Rahim (11) smashed two consecutive fours before holing out to Shikhar Dhawan. With two runs needed from as many balls, Mahmudullah was also caught in the deep for 18.
Mustafizur Rahman had no choice but to race down the wicket, after Shuvagata Hom missed the final ball, and was run out by MS Dhoni.
But Bangladesh have found their mojo against fancied teams like New Zealand. “We’ve tried to play at our best in every match. We don’t know what is going to be the result, but once we play at our best, things can change.”