ICC World Twenty20 India v Bangladesh

Tigers sniff a chance

Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons is expecting the Tigers to arrive at the party from the very first match of the ICC World T20 against India at Trent Bridge today.

“I think everyone knows that we are dangerous at any time. We have some potential match-winners and one of them is sitting here (Mohammad Ashraful), at any form of the game but our consistency has not been there. We don't want to lose this game, we want to win it but we are the underdogs and we are very relaxed about the game. We want to put our best foot forward and put them under some pressure,” said Siddons while speaking to the media at Trent Bridge yesterday.

The Group A match starts at 6pm local time (11pm Bangladesh Standard Time). The Bangladesh side had a three-hour training session at Lady Bay just across the road from Trent Bridge in the morning after which Siddons and skipper Ashraful attended the media session at Trent Bridge. The captain then headed for London to attend the opening ceremony of the World T20.

Siddons said that expectations back home would spur the side on and the team's total focus was on the India match because winning it would mean a place in the Super Eight.

“We have 140-150 million people back home who wish us well and want us to do well. Every time we lose they feel pain and every time we win they are happy. The public mean a lot to us and we want to impress them. We'll have a crack at India and we don't want to wait for the next game against Ireland to qualify for the Super Eights. We also know that we have to bat, bowl and field well to do that.”

“If we lose tomorrow then we have just one more chance. As you have said we have nothing to lose against India and in the second game Ireland have got nothing to lose against us. We don't want to think about that game. We are thinking about the India game like you know win the toss, make some runs and put them under pressure and hopefully come out on top. We are going into the match to win it. If we do that then the Ireland match will be like a bonus practice match for us.”

The coach also felt that despite the relative youth of the side it was still an experienced unit and India would not want to wait and find out about the players.

“Most of the boys have been around for around 12-15 months now so inexperience is not an excuse for them. The fact that we have not played India that often might raise the question of surprises but there are visions and footages available and I'm sure they'll (India) do their homework. Our boys are ready to play and it is time for them to step up.”

Siddons said the team was shaping up well and no longer happy with one-off wins.

“I have always said that I don't want us to have that reputation because I will call it a fluke if we win one game out of 40-50. I don't think this team is about flukes any more. They have done the work. We have really good depth in batting and bowling now. Two of our main bowlers are in our top six in the batting line up. That's a bonus for us and not too many sides can say that. I think we have moved on from that fluky win and we have a chance of pushing anyone. We showed that in the practice matches. Against Australia we didn't quite bowl that well because we were caught on the hop but then we batted really well and against Sri Lanka we played well also. We have moved on but the other teams are rated higher than us and are probably better teams on their day at the moment and are more consistent than us but if they slip up then we are happy to jump all over them.”

Ashraful said he the practice games have given the players confidence and the spirit was up.

“We ran top sides like New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka very close in the warm-ups and if we hadn't made small mistakes here and there then we would have won all three. The boys are really pumped up for tomorrow's game. Everyone is fit and raring to go.”

The skipper was also banking on his deputy Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to put up a special show which would inspire the team.

“Mashrafe has always done well against India and has won us matches against them .He has been our best player against India both with the bat and ball. Our team has always found that something extra while facing India.”

Ashraful said the spirit in the side reminded him of the mood prior to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies when the Tigers knocked India out of the competition.

“I remember that each and everyone in the team believed that we could beat them and we did. I could feel that energy before the match and even when we were warming up at Port of Spain. We will give it our best shot tomorrow knowing that in this form of the game any side can beat the other.”

The Tigers have decided to wait till the team meeting today morning to finalise the XI against India.