Bangladesh • Latest • Slide • Sports
Inside and outside stadium, nation will look to Tigers
(UNB), Dhaka
The Bengal Tigers can expect to get hyperactive support form the country’s frenzied fans when they face mighty India in the final of the 13th Asia Cup T20I at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur on Sunday.
The hosts will fancy their chances in the title clash and the demand of tickets hit an unprecedented high compare to SBNCS capacity of 25000 people for shouting.
The excitement is clear as 15 ticket-hunting people who were in queues for tickets from Friday morning, have already been hurt in a clash with cops on Saturday ahead of the match day in front of a United Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL) designated branch for tickets in Mirpur.
Why not? As the 10th ranked T20I team Bangladesh will face number-one ranked India in the five-nation final.
The crowd factor could cut both ways. The passion of the local fans is a source of great motivation for the Bangladesh boys, but emotions change with each turn in a match, and skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza knows very well that support of that kind could easily turned into hostility.
“Our biggest strength is the support we get from the crowd. It has always been the case,” said the Bangladesh captain whose popularity is at an all-time high and could well go through the roof if he can orchestrate the win.
“We feel motivation by our fans. Their contribution, their sacrifices can never be forgotten. So we always want to make our fans happy, do something for them,” Mashrafe said.
In another camp, the Indian team director Ravi Shastri made a mark in this regard: “We’re used to noise. Let there be 100 % support for the home team. Who cares? When you play at that level, you are immune to that. You can use it to your advantage as well. You can be more geed up and show that you can play.”
The Tigers’ 2-1 ODI series victory over India in 2015 is still fresh in everyone’s mind, but the man who scripted it, Mustafizur Rahman, isn’t in the final clash due to side strain