Bangladesh might be on cloud nine after their impressive victory over England to seal a place in the quarterfinals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, but they will be wary of being brought right back down to earth by New Zealand when the two teams meet in their final Pool A clash in Hamilton.
England's ignominious exit was confirmed by Bangladesh, who played wonderfully well with bat and ball to send the much-fancied side packing from this World Cup. Now, with a quarterfinal place assured, Bangladesh will eye third place with victory over New Zealand.
As it stands, Bangladesh are likely to finish fourth in Pool A, which means a match against India at the MCG. However, a win over the Black Caps at Seddon Park will push them to third place, which means a match against South Africa.
"We were not afraid to fail," said Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha. "That's the key we spoke about.. I think the freedom to do things and believing in ourselves has been the key, not only in the England game but even in the other game, when Scotland put up 300, we were still backing ourselves to do well.
"In this group, qualifying for quarterfinal is a big achievement. We were up against two host countries as well as Sri Lanka and England, so it's a huge task for us to qualify. The big thing is that we believed we could do that, to beat one of the big teams to get there."
While Bangladesh topped England in the group stages, they were outclassed by Sri Lanka and did not have to face the mighty Australia with the game being abandoned. New Zealand have been a different class at this World Cup, with Brendon McCullum, with his aggressive batting and equally-aggressive captaincy, leading his side to five straight wins.
"It's difficult, because he [McCullum] is doing the same thing -- playing without fear -- but again, we play to our strengths and we have a few gameplans," added Hathurusingha. "If we are able to execute those, they will be key to win this game, and he is one of the key players. We need to get him out early."
While Bangladesh were expected to trouble England with spin, it was the faster bowlers who did the trick for their side, but this time, against New Zealand, the spinner will play their role.
"He has not had to start against spinners," said Bangladesh spin bowling coach Ruwan Kalpage when asked about facing up to the early McCullum assault. "It will be tough for us but we have plans for him as well. I'm pretty sure it will help the spinners."
For New Zealand, who have already secured top spot in Pool A, this match might see a few changes made to the side, with the same XI playing the previous five games. Players in the team, including Kane Williamson, have suffered from a bug in the past few days, while fast bowler Adam Milne is struggling with a shoulder injury.
"I think most of the guys will be fine in terms of the illness. Milney we just want to have a look at it again in the morning. He's probably a little stiff and sore, so we have to make a call on that."
Where to Watch Live
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The Pool A game is set to begin at 2 pm local time (6.30 am IST, 1 am GMT, 8 pm ET) with live coverage in India on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 4. Viewers in India and the rest of the sub continent (including Bangladesh) can also live stream the match online on Starsports.com and Star Sports Live Pro.
Viewers in Australia will be able to watch the match live on Channel 9 and Fox Sports while New Zealand audience can do so on Sky TV. The match can be caught via live stream online in Australia on Cricket Australia Live and Foxtel, while New Zealand viewers can do the same on Sky Go NZ.
Viewers in the UK can watch the game live on Sky Sports World Cup and Sky Go, while US viewers can watch it live on ESPN and ESPN Cricket. Audience in the Middle East can watch the match live on OSN Sports, while the action can also be live streamed on OSN Play.
