A day away from cricket

Bangladesh's quarterfinal clash against India at the prestigious Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday may be rated by many as one the most crucial clashes in the history of Bangladesh's cricket; yes even more important than the game against England, for this match has the opportunity to let them reach a height that they probably couldn't even imagine.

However, Sunday was not the day to worry about all that. On the contrary, the Tigers were asked to take the day off and stay far away from cricket; and the players did exactly that. Yesterday they did everything that they didn't have time to do so far.

Some of them went shopping while others preferred exploring the restaurants of Melbourne. Young top order batsman Soumya Sarker perhaps took the advice a little too literally as he decided to change sports for a day and go witness the Australian Grand Prix yesterday. However, it wasn't sure as to whether he was supporting Lewis Hamilton, who aced the race at the Albert Park.

When the Tigers disappointedly went down to Sri Lanka at the MCG during the group stage, no one really expected them to get a shot at redemption. They fielded badly against the Lankans with Anamul Haque dropping a catch in the very first over the game. It was their first appearance at a major Australian venue and that could have been playing in their minds as well.

It will be a different team that will take on India on Thursday.

The confidence level is high after their win against England and a close contest against New Zealand. They will however, apart from battling the Indian team on the field, have to play against a huge wave of Indian fans at the MCG who will be expected to fill more than half the stadium.

The mighty South Africans buckled under the pressure stirred from the thousands of tri-coloured flags in the venue. The question remains as to whether Bangladesh can be any different.

Sure enough, yesterday the players spent one of the more tensed-free days of the tour. But as soon as they hit training at the MCG today, all that is going to change.