Tigers look to end final match jinx today
India wary of Bangladesh, says Karthik
Sports Reporter
Bangladesh will hope to rise up from the trend of final match meltdown, for the fifth time, when they take on India in the Nidahas Trophy Tri-nation T20 International series today at the R Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka. In tournaments, involving more than two teams, Bangladesh have lost four finals earlierthree in ODI tournaments, most recently against Sri Lanka, and one in T20 tournament against India at the Asia Cup T20 in 2014.
That same India now stands as the barrier for the Tigers maiden trophy. While India rested six frontline players including the captain, Virat Kohli, for this tournament, even this second string team got the better of Bangladesh twice in this tournament. The Indian side, in fact, played professional cricket throughout the series following their defeat in the first match against Sri Lanka.
They have two wily spinners in Washington Sundor and Yuvendra Chahal, who mixed their variations well and changed the pace smartly. They were the key in the earlier victories against Bangladesh twice in the group phase. While Indian pacers are inexperienced, they have also proved them to be quite effective, especially their professionalism has been praiseworthy as they seemed to play knowing their limitation well.
While India, due to their blistering performance, will head into the final as the favourites, the Bangladesh side shouldnt be written off entirely.
Considering this to be the second string of the Indian side, Bangladesh has a great opportunity ahead to win this final and end the final match jinx. If any confidence is needed, they certainly got it from the final group match, a bad-tempered match against hosts Sri Lanka, whom they beat by two wickets to qualify into todays final.
Bangladesh has defeated Sri Lanka twice in the tournament, on the first occasion, chasing a record 214 runs and then chasing 160 in a difficult wicket. The victory in the return-leg match was emotion-choked as it was about to be forfeited after Shakib Al Hasan, who returned to the tournament with that match, waved his players back following an umpires refusal to call a shoulder-high delivery a no ball. Nurul Hasan Sohan, a substitute fielder, was engaged in a verbal clash with the Lankan players and things went ugly until the sanity was restored. Shakib and Sohan have been fined 25 per cent of their match fees and have earned a demerit point for the first time as Bangladesh players since the demerit point system was introduced by the ICC.
But all the matters became secondary since Bangladesh are in the final, a place where they wanted to desperately reach. One more victory for Bangladesh could make the tournament a landmark outing and the passion that they showed in the last match, proved they are determined to win the tournament with every effort.
India, however, quietly observed Bangladesh in the last match, something what was understood by the comment of their wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik, who had no reservation to reveal that they are wary of Bangladesh.
Especially in the sub-continent conditions, Bangladesh are a very good team. They are known for their tenacity. They really try hard. They are a team that achieved Test status not many years ago, and from there on they have propelled in all formats of the game and done well for themselves, said Karthik.
But Karthik said they would also be passionate to win it whatever the opponent may be. Although we have a few of our other players missing, were looking to play exactly the sort of cricket that weve played in the past one year, he added.
India however have the edge over Bangladeshthey have never been defeated by Bangladesh in this format. Bangladesh only came close to beat India in that ill-fated Bengaluru match two years ago, when the visitors lost by just one run.
Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim, the two chief protagonists of that match, buried the nightmare effectively by playing two outstanding knocks against Sri Lanka in this tournament and they would be more desperate now to quell the agony by defeating India in the final. That would exact a true revenge.
