Bangladesh batter Sharmin Akhter Supta said on Wednesday (September 9) that the team can’t be dreaming of becoming Asia Cup champions without having the belief within to beat India.
Bangladesh, who snuck past UAE to book their spot in the last four, will take on their Asian rivals in the semi-final of the Asia Cup, scheduled at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday (September 10).
“If we don’t even believe that we can beat India, then we shouldn’t even dream of becoming Asia Cup champions. I firmly believe that to win the Asia Cup, you inevitably have to face India at some stage, whether in the semifinal or the final. You must have that self-belief,” Sharmin told Cricbuzz ahead of their important game against India.
“When playing against India, there’s naturally a strong positive vibe among everyone to perform well, as India is a big name in Asian cricket. I feel that this positive energy motivates the entire squad. If we perform well, there’s no doubt we’ll create a strong chance of winning,” she said.
“In a knockout game, you have to treat whichever opponent you face as a tough team. The main focus right now is to go out there and enjoy the game. You have to play with enjoyment, aim to minimize mistakes on that given day, and play strictly to win. At the end of the day, in a semifinal, how big a team is doesn’t really matter all that much,” she added.
Sharmin said that they are taking inspiration from the 2018 as they prepare to take on India. Bangladesh clinched the Asia Cup in 2018 where they beat India in the group stage, as well as in the final at Malaysia.
Since that final, Bangladesh and India faced each other on 13 occasions in the T20I format where Bangladesh could earn only one win, while India collected 12 wins.
“Even back in the 2018 Asia Cup when we became champions, we had to beat India in the group stage, and then we defeated them again in the final to claim the trophy,” said the right-handed batter
“As I mentioned earlier, back in 2018, we beat India twice on our way to becoming champions. India is undeniably a big name, but if you can beat them, the path to the Asia Cup becomes much clearer,” she said.
“The same principle applies to us now: nothing is impossible. Yes, they are a formidable team whose primary strength lies in their batting, whereas our primary strength is our bowling. If we can back up our bowling with an improved batting performance and play well on that particular day, I genuinely believe we can beat India,” she said adding that she is not losing her sleep as she prepares for the important game.
“As for how I prepare myself, when I step onto the field, I don’t overthink who the bowler is or how big the opposition is, focusing on that beforehand doesn’t help. We never truly know what will happen on the field. On any given day, even the best bowler can have an off day, and an unexpected bowler can deliver an outstanding spell. That specific day is what really matters, how well your plans are designed and how effectively you execute them. I hope we stay focused on going in with a strong plan and executing it well,” she added.
Meanwhile, Nahida firmly believes that their batting unit can perform better than what they did against UAE while added that the nature of the wicket does not allow batters to play their shots.
Bangladesh, who earn 34 runs win over UAE, were restricted to 103-7 as they were rescued by a crucial 42-run partnership between Sharmin Akhter and Nahida Akter.
Sharmin top-scored with 38 off 31 balls, hitting three fours, while Nahida contributed 16* off 26 as the pair helped Bangladesh recover and cross the 100-run mark.
“Alhamdulillah that we were able to win yesterday’s match (against UAE), even though it was a low-scoring one. Still, I’d say we won because of our strength, our bowling strength. I’d also point out that given the behavior of the pitch, or the kind of wicket we’ve been playing on here, I feel it’s a bit of a slow-track wicket. On a pitch like that, I reckon 120–130 runs is a perfect total. That said, we were probably 10–15 runs short,” Nahida told Cricbuzz.
“Having said that, I know our batters are capable of much more. We have that belief in them, and we always hold that faith. InshaAllah, our batters will make a strong comeback,” she said.
“Since we have a match against India tomorrow, we definitely have a team plan in place. We will try to bowl according to that plan. That said, India is a big team – as we all know – and everyone is well aware of their batting strength”.
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