Although India went into the ODI series in Bangladesh as favourites, the hosts’ 79-run win in the first ODI cannot be described away as an upset. With their recent performances in ODIs Bangladesh have begun to command respect from each of their opponents. And India is no different. Their coach Chandika Hathurusingha believes the first sign of this respect was the fact that India sent their strongest team for the series.
“The best example (of our progress) is India sending their strongest team,” he said ahead of the second ODI. “It speaks for itself where we are at this stage. It’s always good to gauge your success based on how your peers look at you. So, I think it’s a big gain for our boys. We have come a long way and our team confidence is high. The way we are playing is a bit different.”
While the coach is pleased with the progress the team has made, he firmly believes that they have the potential to achieve even greater things.
“I am not happy at all with the last game although we won. That’s the scary part. We still can improve. Not only in batting, We can improve in our fielding and bowling execution as well,” Hathurusingha said. “I think we played much better against Pakistan and we are looking to improve in the next two games.
“This is a young team. There is a long way to go for this Bangladesh team. But one thing I can tell is that there are a number of world class players in this team. Five years from now we can talk about their caliber as world class players.”
One of the main reasons for Bangladesh’s resurgence, Hathurusingha believes, is upcoming fast bowling talent. “We were really happy that we have got young fast bowlers coming through. In the World Cup we actually played with three fast bowlers and we managed to keep them on the park. Lot of credit should go to the strength and conditioning coach, the fast bowling coach, and the phsyios to keep them on the park and to develop these young fast bowlers through the academy system. I think we are on the right track.”
The latest example is Mustafizur Rahman, who rattled the famed Indian batting lineup with a five-wicket haul on debut.
For any bowler, when you come into international cricket, your ‘unknown’ factor is a big plus,” the coach said of the left-arm pacer. For Mustafizur, it is going to be a challenge going forward because people will get to know him and try to respect him a little more. But again, he has to go and execute well. We expect the Indians to get hard at them.
Another factor, according to the coach, that has changed Bangladesh’s fortunes, is the aggressive mindset.
“The attacking mindset comes if you believe in your ability. You need to create that confidence in the dressing room and confidence in how they train and how they go about their skills. When you believe that what you are doing is right, it transfers to the aggression on the field. “
With a 1-0 lead in the series, Bangladesh are not relaxing. They know the strength of their opponents and are looking to counter it in the next match.
“It’s all about how we go and execute our plans tomorrow,” Hathurasingha said. “A lot of things have to fall into place for us to win because India is a very, very strong team. We haven’t taken the eye of what their strength is. This is a tough series. We have to really perform to our best to win against India.”
