Melbourne, March 18 (IANS) Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza is not overawed by the occasion or the stage for their cricket World Cup quarterfinals clash against defending champions India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here on Wednesday.
Medium pacer Mortaza stressed on being efficient in all aspects of the game against a strong Indian line-up but felt this would be a great test for his bowlers, who would have to counter India’s batting might.
"Tomorrow it could be a high scoring match. We have to bowl well definitely," Mortaza said.
"It will be a big challenge to bowl against the strong Indian batsmen. Apart from the bowling, we need to bat well as well since their bowling has been good in this tournament."
Talking about his team’s energy ahead of the big game, Mortaza said, "We feel very proud. It is going to be a very exciting match for us. The boys are very relaxed. Hopefully they will give it their best shot tomorrow."
If Bangladesh do manage to create an upset, then it would be the biggest chapter in Bangladesh’s cricket history and a fitting reward to their loyal supporters who have thronged cricket stadiums to support their team.
The Bangladesh captain had a few words of appreciation for the Bangladesh fans.
“In the last 15 or 17 years they have been always with us. Even if we have lost matches, they have come to the grounds and supported us.
"We have supporters in Australia as well and it will be good to see them come to the MCG tomorrow as well,” Mortaza said.
Bangladesh went through a topsy turvy ride this World Cup. They won against Afghanistan, shared a point with Australia owing to a rain affected match, lost against Sri Lanka but backed it up with two consecutive wins against Scotland and England. They stretched New Zealand in a nail-biting encounter losing by three wickets.
Playing the quarterfinal of a World Cup is like a dream come true for Bangladesh, believed Mortaza.
“It is true that it is a dream that we are all living but we need to realise there is no end to one’s dreams. At the start of the tournament our aim was to qualify for the second round and now we want to make it to the semi-finals. We will concentrate on what is in our hands and that is our match against India.”
The captain also stressed on doing the basics right and continuing to play the brand of cricket they have been playing so far.
“Our focus is to play the way we have until now. We need to do well as a team in all three departments of the game,” Mortaza said.
“We need to implement things to our benefit like we did in the last few matches since that approach got us a lot of success. If we execute our plans well, we can do well. We will try our best to perform tomorrow.”
When asked about the importance of the toss or a good target against India, Mortaza said: “The toss won’t matter and affect team compositions. As far as a good total at the MCG is concerned, I don’t know what a good target is against this Indian team."
"They have one of the best batting line-ups in the world and are good chasers. If we play well we can defend a score of 270 or 280. We have no reasons to fear India. They have the momentum but we are hoping to do things correctly and play well," said the 31-year-old.
Why are telecom companies keen on E and V spectrum bands?
There was a call for the telecom companies to auction the E and V spectrum bands, which are the subject of controversy, like another spectrum. Last week, these companies have also informed about this
ED questioned Sonia again today: Sonia Gandhi said – Motilal Vora used to watch transactions; 75 questions asked so far in 9 hours
ED will question Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday for the third day in the National Herald case. Sonia has been questioned for 3 hours on 21 July and 6 hours on 26 July. Congress will
India-China border dispute: Five things agreed upon in the meeting of S Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of China
Five points have been agreed between the two countries to ease the ongoing tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China in Ladakh.
US President Joe Biden bluntly says Iran will never allow nuclear weapons
US President Joe Biden has said he will never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. He said this during talks with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Wednesday to discuss global and regional
Five people arrested after a student's suicide got bail; Nepali students were forcibly expelled.
Five people arrested in connection with the forcible eviction of Nepali students from hostels of Odisha's Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) have got bail. Those arrested include KIIT's
Salman Khan: Lapse in Salman's security, two unknown persons entered his house in two days; Guards caught them and handed them over to police
A big lapse has come to light in the security of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. Within two days, two unknown people tried to enter Salman Khan's house. First, at midnight on 19 May, a woman tried to
Former England spinner wants to include Yuzvendra Chahal directly in India Test team, gave this statement
Indian team leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal plays only limited-overs cricket, but England legend Graeme Swann says that he would like to keep Chahal in the team without any question in Test cricket. The
April 2022 Releases: In April, there will be a big bang in the cinemas
The restrictions imposed across the country for the prevention of corona infection have now been completely abolished. Along with this, films that have been waiting for theatrical release for the last
IND vs ENG: 'The truth of baseball came out in front of everyone', former England captain's sharp attack on Stokes and his strategy
Former England batsman Michael Vaughan has criticized the 'baseball' tactics of the Ben Stokes-led side after their poor performance in the recently concluded third Test against India in Rajkot. India
TS Inter Result 2022: Telangana Board has released the result of Inter examination, read here what was the result
Telangana School Education Department (TSBIE) has announced the result of Inter examination in the state. These results have been released for both classes 11th and 12th. The result has been released
