Mirpur has an air of expectations - expectations of glory, emergence of new heroes and idols; all on the basis of on one match - India vs Bangladesh, the final of the Asia Cup. Not surprisingly, the home side is bound to get ample of support when the teams walk out for the grand finale at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium on Sunday evening. Amidst the hype surrounding the final, Team India Director Ravi Shastri brushed it all aside calling it ‘just another game’ for the side.
“We are experienced players. You just treat it as another game. Why treat it as a final,” remarked Shastri. “You approach it like you've approached every game in this tournament. For us every game is a knockout, we've approached it in that fashion. And we'll approach tomorrow's game in no different manner,” he said.
For Bangladesh though it was about creating a cocoon around the team shunning all the attention and focusing on the job at hand. “What Ravi Shastri has said is absolutely right. It is another match for them as they are used to hype and big matches. They can take it like 10 other matches,” said Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza. “India has played big finals and won trophies. What is easy for them may not be that easy for us. But we are trying to focus on the game, shut ourselves from the hype and play as normally as possible,” Mortaza added.
Shastri meanwhile agreed that Bangladesh did given them a tough time at the start of the tournament, but the team did well to come out winning at the end of it. “The first game was good. If you look at it Bangladesh was a very good win to start of the tournament. We were under pressure and in the last ten overs we bounced back. But every game is a tough game. It is how you balance things out in batting and bowling department. I thought we did an excellent job. Let's hope we can show fearless kind of cricket in the final too tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Mortaza agreed India were a strong side though they did have home advantage. “We all know that Indians are clear favourites in the final. Let there be no debates or discussions on that. Crowd, pitch, conditions, everything will favour us tomorrow but that can never ensure that we will win the final. What we have got is a young team which has won matches playing as a unit.”
For India though, the crowd was not a vital factor at all, reckoned Shastri. “We're used to the noise. Let there be 100 per cent noise. Who cares? When you play at that level, you are immune to that. You can use to your advantage as well. You can show that you can play.”
When Bangladesh walk out on the field with a packed house routing for them, there is bound to be nervousness, but at the same time, confidence oozing out at every step. They would love to get the silverware home, but Mortaza said, his side would remain unfazed irrespective of the outcome in the final. “If we don’t win tomorrow, nothing will be lost. I believe that Bangladesh’s cricketing future is really bright. This tournament is an indicator that we are moving in the right direction as far as T20 cricket is concerned. I won’t say we have become a great team but our graph is ever improving,”
