Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghega on Wednesday said that Team India is currently playing gritty cricket and has succeeded in giving a scare to the opponents. He was speaking on the eve of the World Cup match against India at the MC Stadium in Pune on Thursday.
The India vs Bangladesh Pune ODI match will be the fourth match for both teams in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. While Team India have defeated their opponents in all the three matches they have played in the tournament so far, Bangladesh have lost yet again – the return matches after winning the opening match.
“I think they have covered every area. They have got the bowlers up front. Bumrah has almost reached his best, which is as good as we have seen in the past. They have good, experienced bowlers in the middle overs. And their batting, PTI quoted Hathurusingha as saying before the India match. “Especially since the top order is taking off, it is scary the way they are playing at this stage without much fear.”
“They seem to be enjoying their cricket at the moment and the World Cup on home soil, and there is a lot of support,” he added.
“Shakib Al Hasan will not play if he does not feel ready.”
Although Shakib Al Hasan had a good session in the nets, Hathurusinghega insisted that the Bangladesh skipper will only play the World Cup match against India if he feels he is fully fit.
“He (Shakib) had a good batting session yesterday. He did some runs between the wickets as well. We are waiting for the result of the scan we had today. We have not tried his bowling yet. We will evaluate him tomorrow morning and take a decision,” Hathurusingha said.
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The coach said, “If he is not ready to play, we will not risk him. If he is ready, there is a chance to play tomorrow (Thursday).”
“Firstly, it is the medical staff who give us their opinion. They give the green or red light. They give us an indication of where the player is. If they think it is not serious, the player is given the choice to play the game or play. He added: “No. It’s up to the captain and coach whether they want the player or not. If it is required in one or both specializations.”
Hathurusingha said that the World Cup competitions are completely different from any other matches and Bangladesh will have to play their best cricket in order to outperform India.
“We have had success in the recent past against India, but it is a different match in the World Cup. We hope to give a complete performance. India, the team that has been in style in the World Cup, is not having a good performance.” “The match, and (if) we play to our potential, it will serve us well. We need to start well,” he stated while interacting with the media.
Hitting requires shooting
Hathurusinghega admitted that Bangladesh will have to do much better with the bat than their recent performance in order to challenge India.
“This wicket is probably the best batting wicket we have come across so far. Even the practice wicket was similar. We had a really good net session yesterday,” Hathurusingha said.
“We didn’t give a complete performance with the ball and the bat. We are expected to give a complete performance. We know that we are playing as a team and performing to our abilities. We have won against big teams. We have performed well in the tournament and I think we are facing one of those days,” he said.
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Updated: October 18, 2023, 09:19 PM IST
