Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty said on Wednesday that their success against India in their own backyard transformed their mindset and they are confident of doing well against Australia in the forthcoming white-ball series.
The Tigresses will take on Australia in the three-match ODI series opener at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
The second and third matches of the series are scheduled respectively on 24 and 27 March while the series will be followed by a three-match WT20I series, scheduled from 31 March at the same venue. The other two games are slated respectively on 2 and 4 April.
“Definitely I think it (mindset) changed in everyone. India are the kind of team that if you perform against them, you are in focus in world cricket. I would say it was a positive for us,” Nigar told reporters pointing to their 1-1 WODI series result against one of the leading women’s sides of the world.
“When we were playing against India, the journalists’ questions were very different. You asked whether we can win or not. I think it is a huge success for my team that you aren’t asking me these questions. The questions this time are about winning and doing better. I think it is a kind of a success,” she said, adding that they are well aware that the visitors won’t take them lightly.
“They are the better side. They are the world champions. Playing against them is a huge experience for us. The way we have played in the last six or seven months and looking at their squad, it is clear that they haven’t taken us lightly,” she said, adding that they know very well that if they can pick a couple of points against Australia, it will pave ways for them to play the World Cup directly.
Bangladesh are currently placed seventh in the ICC Women’s Championship standings with 13 points from 15 games.
“Every point is important in the ICC cycle. We are really focused on not playing in the qualifying round of the World Cup. We want to grab as many points as possible, which is leading us to play better,” she added.
Meanwhile, Nigar’s Australian counterpart Alyssa Healy said that their experience in the recently concluded Women’s Premier League in India would help them in the forthcoming series against Bangladesh.
Australia included several players in their squad who were part of the just concluded WPL.
Although the hosts have prepared themselves to exploit the tourists with low and slow wickets at the SBNS, Healy believes that they are also well prepared to take up the challenge. “I think having that knowledge and experience, in particular coming from the WPL, the Delhi wicket in particular was a little bit low and a little bit slow which doesn’t traditionally suit an Australian batting line-up,” she said.
“I think there is enough experience within our group and enough communication in particular, to make sure that we’re adapting to those conditions and still being able to score runs when they don’t quite suit us,” Healy concluded.