Bangladesh take on Malaysia today
Bangladesh will take on Malaysia in quarter-final match of the Asian Games Cricket competition today at the Korogi Sports Park Cricket Ground in Nisshin, Japan.
The match will kick-off at 11:00am (Bangladesh Standard Time). The match will be held as per T20 format.
The Tigers will directly play in the quarter-final. Captain of Bangladesh cricket team Litton Das will lead his side, while Captain of Malaysia cricket team Syed Aziz Syed Aziz Mubarak will lead his team.
According to the latest ICC ranking, Bangladesh have enough points to play in the ‘Last Eight’ of the Asian Games Cricket competition. On the other hand, Malaysia moved into the quarter-final after taking part in the qualifying round.
Before today’s match, Bangladesh and Malaysia faced each other in one occasion of Asian Games Cricket competition and Bangladesh won that match.
There is a bad news for Bangladesh as their ace batter Najmul Hossain Shanto has been ruled out due to illness.
Apart from Bangladesh, there are four other ICC Test-playing nations in Asia. They are: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. Consequently, winning gold in Asian Games cricket is not easy task for Bangladesh.
Captain Litton Das isn’t looking that far ahead just yet, his immediate goal is to reach the final.
Litton Das spoke about this during a press conference on Monday.
Litton Das said, “I said before leaving that our primary goal is to reach the final. Whether we win gold or not is a secondary matter, but tomorrow’s match is crucial for that journey. For now, that is where our focus lies.”
The Bangladesh team’s practice sessions ahead of today’s opener against Malaysia have been far from ideal.
Rain washed out the scheduled sessions at the match venue. Today-the day before the match-they had to practice on a football field instead. However, Litton has no complaints about this.
He said, “We trained extensively back home, and I told the players that once we arrived in Japan, practice opportunities might be limited-especially if it rained.
So, we had to be mentally prepared for that. Also, cricket isn’t very well-known here, so I was unsure if adequate facilities would be available.
The players completed their preparations back home (in Dhaka), and I believe they are ready to play.”
Even if the players are ready, will the weather cooperate? Today in Nisshin, both the first quarter-final (Hong Kong vs. Pakistan) and the second (Afghanistan vs. India) were abandoned due to rain.
Pakistan and India advanced to the semi-finals by virtue of their superior T20I rankings. If today’s match between Bangladesh and Malaysia will be also washed out by rain, Bangladesh will face Pakistan in the semi-final.
Addressing the threat of rain, Litton stated bluntly, “If the match doesn’t take place, there is nothing we can do.
As I said before, no one has control over the rain.” When asked if there were any specific plans regarding the spin department, the Bangladesh captain replied, “I think the pitch will be favorable for the bowlers. We will try to field our best bowlers.”
The Bangladesh men’s team won gold at the inaugural Asian Games cricket tournament in Guangzhou in 2010. They secured bronze in the last two editions (2014 and 2023).
Bangladesh men’s cricket team: Litton Das (Captain), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Tawhid Hridoy, Musaddek Hossain, Yasir Ali, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud and Aliss Al Islam.
