'They can win this one'
For the second consecutive time a Faruque Ahmed-led team has managed to achieve Bangladesh's target in a World Cup. Back in 2007, when Faruque was the chief selector, Bangladesh went on to reach the Super Eights in the Caribbean. They even beat South Africa in that round.
Having reached the quarterfinals, there's no doubt that he has been successful; however, the chief selector reckons that this team has a lot more remaining in them.
"What I can assure you is that this team believes in a win," said Faruque, who is with the team in Australia. "I don't see any fear or pressure among the boys."
"Undoubtedly India is the better side in this contest. You have to rate them ahead since they have won all six of their games so far. But still I will say we have a chance to win this match," he added.
According to Faruque, the Tigers can take inspiration from their previous wins against India in multinational competitions.
"We beat them earlier in the World Cup and the Asia Cup, so it won't be an upset if we can beat them again. Yes, they have a better record against us but winning in the two big events is a huge boost for our boys. India is now in superb form but we are also playing a good brand of cricket which has been noticed by the whole world," said an excited Faruque.
"The Tigers have been playing as a unit, so personally I am very confident. The fear about the conditions is now a thing of the past. They now just need to play their best cricket on the day," he added.
The former national captain also reckons that India might be under pressure.
Indian bowing has been done a decent job so far in the tournament. Their batting too has showed plenty of depth. Faruque however believes that India's middle order can be tested if there's pressure on them.
"Our batsmen also did a good job. True we were yet to get enough runs from the opening stand but if you consider the conditions; I must say our openers did a decent job. Looking at this wicket I feel that our bowlers may get support in the first five to seven overs. Our middle order is in-form and Shakib [Al Hasan] is a big occasion player," Faruque said while pointing out Bangladesh's positives.
Despite the positive vibe, Faruque admits that India are the clear favourites of this game. As Bangladesh approach what could be there last game of an eventful World Cup, Faruque has just one last message for the boys: "I don't want to see our team give up hope at any stage of the game."
10 Facts
-Eight of the last completed 10 one-day internationals between these sides has been won by the chasing team
-However, the most recent clash, at Dhaka in June 2014, saw India successfully defend a total of 105, bowling Bangladesh out for 58
-Virat Kohli (506) needs 87 runs to pass Gautam Gambhir (592) as the leading run-scorer in ODIs between these teams
-Kohli has reached 50 in five of his six innings against Bangladesh (three of which have been converted into centuries), averaging 126.5 with a strike rate of exactly 100
-That average of 126.5 is the highest any player holds against an opponent, minimum 500 runs scored
-All six of the ODIs between these teams at neutral venues have been won by the team that batted second
-India have won five of these contests, Bangladesh's victory coming at the 2007 World Cup -- their only World Cup meeting
-Since falling for a first ball duck in his first World Cup innings when batting second in 2007, MS Dhoni has hit 281 runs (two dismissals) in six knocks when chasing -- India have won all six games
-No Bangladesh batsman hit a century in any of the team's first 28 matches at World Cups -- there have been two in the last two, both recorded by Mahmudullah
-Since the start of the 2007 World Cup Dhoni has been dismissed once by bowlers in the Bangladesh squad, scoring 142 runs from 155 balls faced
TODAY'S MATCH
India v Bangladesh
Second Quarterfinal
Time: 9:30am
Venue: Melbourne
FRIDAY'S MATCH
Australia v Pakistan
Third Quarterfinal
Time: 9:30am
Venue: Adelaide
Comments