Desk Report:
The Bangladesh team was a little worried about Liton Das before the India match in Dubai. Liton looked quite cheerful at the start of practice the day before yesterday at the ICC Academy ground. The team is playing well in the Asia Cup. He is also leading from the front. The reason for concern about Liton is the injury.
Bangladesh got a three-day break before the India match. The Litons practiced for one day. Liton was fine at the start of practice the day after yesterday. The Bangladesh team captain did not bat after injuring the muscle next to his rib during batting practice. He then lay down next to the net, and the team’s physio Bayezidul Islam and head doctor Debashish Chowdhury were seen tending to him. The team management immediately said that it was nothing serious. Since the team did not practice yesterday, they spent the whole day resting. Today, they will be spending almost the whole day before the match. However, Liton was supposed to have an MRI in Dubai tomorrow. The team management will take a final decision after seeing everything today. According to team sources, Liton is walking normally. Although there are some concerns, the team management is hoping to get the captain for the India match.
Liton’s performance against India on the big stage is not bad. He scored a brilliant century in the 2018 Asia Cup final in Dubai. In the 2022 T20 World Cup in Adelaide, Liton’s 60 runs off 27 balls gave the Indians a scare. In the 2023 ODI World Cup in Pune, he scored 66 runs against India. Today, in another match against India in Dubai, Bangladesh needs Liton not only as a captain, but also as a batter.
After a three-day break, Bangladesh has a big challenge, playing two consecutive matches against India and Pakistan in the desert. Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons, a little annoyed with this schedule, said, “It is very difficult to play two consecutive T20s or ODIs. It is not good. This is a very difficult matter.’
Although there is a different kind of excitement about the India match, the Bangladeshi audience seems to accept this reality that Mustafiz will have to play from behind in this match. There is also a positive side to playing as an ‘underdog’, the pressure of expectations is less. However, Simmons believes that any team, let alone Bangladesh, has the ability to defeat India. No team has been able to implement that ability yet in the Asia Cup. Despite not wanting to make a big deal out of victories against teams like Oman and the United Arab Emirates, India has crushed arch-rivals Pakistan. Will Bangladesh be able to challenge the Indians today?
Although the scoreline of the two teams in 20-over cricket is 16:1, Indian team assistant coach Ryan ten Descotte respected Bangladesh in the pre-match press conference, ‘I respect Bangladesh. They have some great attacking cricketers. I am looking forward to taking on the challenge tomorrow (today).’ No matter how big the opponent is, the Bangladesh team is confident of defeating them. After the practice session the day before yesterday, the team’s spinning all-rounder Sheikh Mehedi said, ‘The body language that needs to be there is there. I am not thinking about whether the opponent is India or Australia.’ Mehedi added, ‘I think, even if we play against Uganda, we will have the belief to win the match.’
It is certainly better to go into the field with a winning mentality without thinking about the opponent. But India is no longer ‘Uganda’, the bowling attack must have that edge to handle Abhishek Sharma’s storm. Or the batters must have that skill to handle Kuldeep Yadav’s whirlwind. In Dubai conditions, it is inevitable that Bangladesh will change in the bowling department against India. However, if Liton is fit, the possibility of a change in the batting department is slim. The high confidence gained after defeating Afghanistan and Sri Lanka could be Bangladesh’s big trick in defeating India.
