Tigers expect batting upsurge

Mathematically Bangladesh are still in the running for a place in the last four of the ICC World T20 despite two consecutive defeats against Pakistan and Australia. But the reality before today's clash against India at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore is that they will fight for a lost cause in the context of the tournament, but for a very important cause as far as their own pride is concerned.

Will they be fifth time lucky against one of the best teams in the world after four defeats, including twice in a month, when they promised a lot but came unstuck in the final hurdle. It is quite difficult for Bangladesh to outsmart an Indian team that has been in fabulous form for the last three months at home and abroad.

Dominant at home of late, Bangladesh have not beaten a big team in a T20 World Cup since their victory over West Indies in the inaugural edition in 2007. Besides, on Indian soil it will be like 'mission impossible' to spoil the home party. The job in hand turned even harder after the suspension of their two performing bowlers -- Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny -- for illegal bowling actions.

The good news however is that opener Tamim Iqbal, who sat out the Australia game due to a stomach upset, has been recovering well and is set to make a comeback on a wicket that promises a lot of runs.

The Tigers did not train yesterday but spent a lot of time reflecting on the small mistakes they had committed against Australia at the same venue on Monday, when they lost by three wickets.

According to Bangladesh vice-captain Shakib Al Hasan, who attended the pre-match briefing yesterday afternoon, if they can correct those small mistakes they stand a chance to upset the Indian juggernaut.

A pragmatic Shakib said that if Bangladesh are to do something better in their next two games, they need to score heavily in the first six Powerplay overs. With Soumya Sarkar out of form, Bangladesh have so far failed to express themselves in the first six overs, scoring only 32 in the last game when this kind of wicket generally produces between 45 and 50 at least.

This is an area where Bangladesh desperately need to improve with the return of Tamim, who has hit the first ton of the tournament in the qualifiers against Oman. Besides, those who are contributing in the team should contribute a bit more so that they can put up a decent total for their bowlers to defend on a wicket where, according to experts, 170 is a par score.

The bowling may have suffered in the absence of Taskin, but with the return of Mustafizur Bangladesh have got something that other teams in the competition can only envy. A few have criticised Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza for bowling just one over against England. They were also critical of his pace or the lack of it and his handling of the bowlers. But they are definitely short-sighted and simply forgot that without his four-over spell against the Netherlands Bangladesh perhaps would not have made it into the tournament proper.

He may bat at number eight but if anybody took notice, his two crucial fours took Bangladesh to the Asia Cup final only a couple of weeks ago, and there were his small yet crucial knocks in the qualifiers. Let the detractors say whatever they feel like, if Bangladesh are to do something special today Mashrafe and his motto will again hold the key: “play hard and aggressive cricket and contribute, small or big for the cause of the team because T20 is all about those contributions.”