Tigresses unfazed by champions’ aura
Bangladesh will look to draw on their spirited displays from earlier matches as they aim to upset defending champions Australia in their fifth game of the ICC Women's World Cup in Vizag today.
After opening their campaign with a seven-wicket win over Pakistan, the Tigresses have suffered three straight defeats but earned plaudits for their fight and competitiveness against top-ranked sides.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Against both England and South Africa, Bangladesh created significant opportunities -- reducing their opponents to 103-6 and 78-5 respectively while defending totals of 178 and 232 -- but failed to capitalise due to dropped catches and inconsistent bowling, eventually suffering narrow and heartbreaking defeats.
While the batting unit remains a concern, inconsistency in the middle overs has also exposed weaknesses in the bowling attack, allowing opponents to recover after early pressure.
Nevertheless, batter Sobhana Mostary said the team remains focused on positivity and improvement ahead of their biggest challenge yet.
"After yesterday's [Tuesday's] match, we didn't talk about any negative things. Everyone discussed the positives. I think that positive discussion will help us in our next games," Mostary told reporters on the eve of the match yesterday.
"Australia are the world champions, and we always have the expectation of playing well against them. We go to the field to fight and to win matches," she added.
Australia, meanwhile, have been one of the tournament's most consistent teams, securing wins over New Zealand, Pakistan and India, while their match against Sri Lanka abandoned due to rain.
Although the seven-time champions have beaten Bangladesh in all four previous WODIs, Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland said they would not take the oppositions lightly.
"No, we don't take anyone lightly. I think we've prepared really well. We've got good training tonight ahead of tomorrow, and everyone's ready to go," Sutherland said.
"We had a really good series against them a little over a year ago, which gave us some great insights. It's a pretty similar team they've got here, so we've studied them thoroughly and know what to expect," she added.
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