Bangladesh will be playing their first-ever semifinal in an ICC event on Thursday. It’s quite obvious there will be butterflies in the stomach.
Captain Mashrafe Mortaza said they would try treating the game against India just like any other as thinking about the magnitude of the occasion will only attract more pressure.
“We are playing a semifinal for the first time in our life. There is pressure on us. But I think India have got more pressure than us because they got a bigger population and people love cricket in India a lot.
“Both teams have a lot of expectations. But at the end of the day, it's a cricket game, so whoever plays well, they'll win. But both teams will try their best. Regarding pressure, I think if you take it as a semifinal, the pressure will be high, but if you think it's just another match it will be lot easier to deal with.”
Bangladesh have lost 26 times in 32 games against India. They lost the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal, 2016 Asia Cup (T20Is) and also at 2016 World T20.
In all of those games, they could not overcome nerves.
When pointed out, Mortaza chose to focus on the future. “People count only winning, that's for sure, but I think if you look at both matches, I think we played at our best. India played at their best, that's why they won.
“We were disappointed, especially in the World T20. We couldn't go through with just two runs needed off three balls with two (proper) batsmen at the wicket. It happens sometimes in cricket, but we’ve forgotten about it.
“Tomorrow we need to play our best. We can't just think about what happened in the last two matches as it will put more pressure on us.”
