A long line stretched from one end of the field to the other. One or two Dutch cricketers went to practice, pulling their kit bags in a serial manner. In the middle, they had to satisfy the demand for interviews – opener Max O’Dowd himself became a journalist! He even asked teammate Noah Cross a question at the press conference. Looking at the alert Dutch, there is no way to understand, they had just blown away Bangladesh in the first match the day before.
There was no way to understand whether the Bangladesh cricketers were alert or not. Of course, they should be. After winning the first match the day before yesterday, if they beat the Netherlands in the second of the three-match T20 series in Sylhet today, the series win will be completed with one match remaining. The match is important in that sense. However, since the team won, most of those who played for Bangladesh have been rested.
The coaching staff members came to practice with the cricketers who were not in the first match XI. There was little seriousness there either. For example, after bowling Nurul Hasan, assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin came and shook hands with Shamim with excitement. Although there is no way to tell from a distance whether there was any challenge between them or not.
Bangladesh’s next challenge is the Asia Cup. The topic kept coming up in the Netherlands series before this tournament—but Salahuddin also walked the path of the captain-head coach yesterday. When asked whether Bangladesh will have a different idea of ​​testing themselves in the next two matches, his answer was, ‘This is not really a place for experiments. This is international cricket. We will try to take the decisions that need to be taken to win.’
Bangladesh does not have much time. The Asia Cup competition starts within a week of the end of the series against the Netherlands. Assistant coach Salahuddin is satisfied with the preparations for this series and the Asia Cup after almost a month of preparation. However, he emphasizes on maintaining the continuity of improvement, ‘The team’s improvement will never stop. It is a continuous process. One series or Asia Cup is not the end for us. But we also know that we have to play well in the Asia Cup. That is in our minds.’
The word improvement has always been common in Bangladeshi cricket. Good or bad—it is regularly heard from the mouths of the people concerned after everything. However, Salahuddin now has evidence of the drive for improvement. One of which he gave, ‘Many cricketers now spend their own money and hire nutritionists. They are very conscious about fitness.’
If Bangladesh can beat the Netherlands today, it will win three consecutive series in the T20 version. No one is taking their eyes off him individually—different cricketers are coming forward when needed. Bangladesh’s performance shows the impression of playing as a team. Is Bangladesh now at the peak of its rhythm to maintain such continuity?
Salahuddin’s answer, ‘We can never be satisfied. Because, we have to improve every day. And international cricket is very difficult. The challenge in the style of play and thinking is always coming at every moment.
The Netherlands will also be trying desperately to break the rhythm of Bangladesh. No matter how much the representatives of Bangladesh deny it, this series is the last chance to test themselves before the Asia Cup. Therefore, Nurul Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin may be seen in the XI by making changes.
For the Dutch, the only thing that matters is saving the series. That belief is well-established in their team, said batsman Noah Cross, who came to the press conference as a representative of the team yesterday, ‘Our team has the belief to win the match. We have learned well from last night’s match. We really believe that our best cricket is capable of beating Bangladesh. So there is no reason why we cannot win the series.’
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