Follow UsWhile India are clear favourites, Harmanpreet Kaur expects a tough ‘challenge’ against Bangladesh away from home. Traditionally, the pitches in Bangladesh are expected to be slow and spin-friendly, and it is yet to be ascertained what are pitches would be on offer for the Women in Blue.
“Bangladesh is a good side and they play very good cricket in home conditions. It will be very challenging for us and we are ready for the challenge. We had 2-3 days to prepare ourselves and we prepared ourselves in every dept. we are looking forward to some very positive cricket,” Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said in the pre-match press conference.
India made multiple changes to their setup, including the axe to Radha Yadav and Rajeshawri Gayakwad. But fresh faces in the form of Rashi Kanojiya, B Anusha and Uma Chetry breathe a new life into the India team. Harmanpreet pointed out that the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) gave plenty of youngsters an opportunity to showcase their talent.
“For domestic players, it (Women's Premier League) was a great platform to perform, and whoever got the opportunity did very well...WPL played a very big role for the domestic players. I am very happy that domestic players took this opportunity and did very well,” she added.
Harmanpreet also spoke about the conditions, insisting that a ‘good batting’ track could well and truly help the team and entertain the crowd.
“In Asian conditions, we usually get a turning track, but here I've heard the wicket is very good. That's what we are expecting, in T20 cricket we look for a good batting track and hopefully tomorrow the pitch will play very well...Hopefully, we will be able to execute whatever we've discussed on the field,” she had to add.
India’s interim head coach, Nooshin Al Khadeer, too, does not want to take the series lightly, adding that there is nothing like an experiment in the squad.
"...For us every match is important and there is nothing like an experiment. We want to play our best side because the whole idea is to win. I'm sure the Bangladesh team is going to have the same attitude. It's never an experiment or a motivation thing that we have the leverage since we are the best in the subcontinent...We want to exhibit some good cricket," Nooshin added.