C T Online Desk: Right-arm pacer Taskin Ahmed hopes Bangladesh will better their performance in all departments when they lock horns with India in their second Super 8 game at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, Saturday evening [BST].
The Tigers started the second round of the tournament losing to former world champions Australia by 28 runs (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method) and must win against India to keep their chances alive for the semis.
Bangladesh’s defeat to the Aussies came on the back of yet another dismal display by the batting unit.
Invited to bat first, the men in red and green could post only 140 runs for eight wickets in 20 overs on a batting track that had some 170 to 180 runs on offer.
Apart from the poor show by the batters yet again, it was the negative body language and intent of the Bangladesh players that caught the attention of the majority.
There are doubts in the cricketing arena if Bangladesh batters with such negative intent can survive the world-class India bowling.
Facing India now, Bangladesh have no option but to hope their batters bat better as it has now started affecting the highly effective bowling attack.
Bangladesh won three out of four games in the group stage and made it to the second round due to superlative effort from the bowling attack.
However, it is also a fact that those matches were played on surfaces [in Dallas, New York and Saint Vincent] that offered purchase to the bowlers.
The scenario is different at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and Taskin emphasized that they need to put up more runs on the board.
“Wickets are different in every venue [in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup]. The challenge here [in Antigua] is different. The batters are getting the favor here. Batting first, the team has to score at least 170 or 180 runs. It is a morning game [against India] so the surface will be better and there will be more challenge for the bowlers. The margin is very less so we will have to bowl smartly. It will not be easy for us but if we can execute well on the field then we can expect a result,” said Taskin to the media at the pre-match presser.
“It will not be easy [against India] but if we can win two games from here then there will be chance for us to advance to the semis. Even if the match against India gets washed off and if we can win the last game, we will still have a chance. The total was low and they [Australia] played aggressively. We are hopeful, if we can win the next match things might get different for us,” the vice captain added.
India have been a dominating force in the ongoing T20 World Cup like every other International Cricket Council tournament in recent years.
They are unbeaten in the 20-nation tournament so far winning four out of five games, with one getting abandoned due to rain.
Bangladesh have lost on all four occasions they met India in T20 World Cups.
Their last T20 World Cup encounter was in Adelaide in 2022 where Bangladesh lost to India by five runs [DLS method].
India and Bangladesh have faced each other 13 times in the shortest format where India have dominated the rivalry with 12 wins.
