The Bangladesh cricket team will experience the other side of the coin against Ireland today in their World Cup group B encounter, a game where they will be firm favourites.
A full house crowd is again expected at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur as the Tigers take on a less-fancied side who are considered weak against the turning ball and under sub-continent conditions. But the Irish camp could take heart from the sudden spate of injuries in the Tigers' camp, forcing the think-tank into uncertainty over the composition of the starting eleven.
After paceman Shafiul Islam and opener Imrul Kayes suffered injuries during Wednesday's training, the mood within the team turned slightly sombre yesterday with a few faces clearly telling the story of pressure. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan, sweat pouring from his face during the press conference yesterday, was uncertain over Shafiul's fate after the Bogra lad fell badly on his right shoulder. Nazmul Hossain has been asked to be mentally prepared to play the game if Shafiul fails the fitness test in the morning while it is all but confirmed that Mohammad Ashraful will replace Mahmudullah Riyad to bolster the lower-order. The unpredictable right-hander will be specifically asked to free up the game during the batting Powerplay, a chink in the Tigers' armour.
But despite the forced changes and the so-called weaker opposition, it will be Bangladesh who will face the most pressure to win and Shakib knows what they are up to.
"It's a must-win situation for us. To qualify, we have to start winning and win this game first," he said, though adding that the visitors' team spirit is one of their strengths.
"They are a good team and have been playing together for quite some time now. They have been playing well for the last 2-3 years. But we just need to play our normal game to do well in this game," added Shakib.
In an important match such as today's, the underdogs usually feel less pressure and little is expected from them, but Ireland captain William Porterfield believed that his team's surprise factor is waning away. "That's to be expected, we've been playing against the top teams in the world. It's important that we put ourselves in different situations and perform under pressure," said the 26-year-old.
Ireland is certainly the best among the four Associate Nations taking part in this tournament and some of their stars have joined the England ranks after performing well in the county scene. Even the current team has seven who ply their trade in England's first-class system while another youngster is considered the next big thing.
"We have got Boyd Rankin, no matter what sort of surface he's bowling on, he can be a handful for batsmen because of his height. Paul Stirling at the top of the order is an exciting young prospect who can change games for us," explained Porterfield, who plays for Gloucestershire.
But the Tigers' spin attack will test the visitors whose last visit to these shores proved to be a bitter experience. "We beat them 3-0 in 2008 in Mirpur. They will find it difficult to handle our spin and also the crowd is behind us," said Shakib, though it will be paramount that the No 1 all-rounder in the world does his best with the ball in hand in tandem with Abdur Razzak.
