‘Bangladesh need to play to a plan to win against India’
Former skipper Aminul Islam on Wednesday said if Bangladesh play to a plan, they can defeat defending champions India in their crunch ICC Champions Trophy semifinal in Birmingham on Thursday.
“Bangladesh are nothing less compared to India. Rather, we have experienced players like Mashrafe (Mortaza), Shakib (Al Hasan), Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim (Iqbal),” Islam told leading daily ‘Prothom Alo’.
“I think if Bangladesh can play in a planned manner, there is no reason to lose to India,” Islam, who scored 145 runs in Bangladesh’s inaugural Test against India in 2000, said.
Islam, a right-handed batsman, played 13 Tests and 39 Oneday Internationals (ODI) for Bangladesh scoring 530 and 794 runs respectively.
“Once our batting line-up does well, we can get a big score. If Bangladesh can use that effectively, victory is certain,” he said.
Aminul also stressed on the fielding which he said is the key against India.
“As India’s batting line-up is solid, weak fielding can be detrimental. (Virat) Kohli, Rohit (Sharma), and (Shikhar) Dhawan -- no one should be dropped if opportunity comes.”
Islam tipped all-rounder Shakib to deliver in the big match.“You should keep one thing in mind that Shakib is a big-match player.”
Bangladesh defied odds to qualify from Group A along with England. They beat New Zealand in one of the greatest run-chases in Champions Trophy history after being down in the dumps at 33/4. Both Shakib and Mahmudullah scored tons and stitched together a record 224-run stand to take their team over the line.
Their progress to the last four stage was confirmed when Australia, plagued by two rain-hit games, lost to England on June 10.