Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan exchanges greetings with Netherlands players during a practice session at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. (PTI Photo)
‘At home’ Bangladesh look to turn fortunes around against the Netherlands, as Kolkata leg of World Cup kicks off
As the final sound of the dhak fades into the distance, marking the end of Bengal’s most famous festival, the City of Joy will wake up to the riffs and flavours of another carnival, as the World Cup weaves its way into Kolkata. The city has yet to wake up from celebrations of the days gone by. The storied Eden Gardens is all decked up, wonderfully lit in the night and gearing up to leave its imprints on the tournament, though the buzz has so far been missing. But it could all change in the coming weeks, as the tournament would kick off in the city when Bangladesh encounter the Netherlands on Saturday.
The relative low-profile nature of the teams, though a contest that has the potential to thrill, is an appetizer of sorts for the big games lined up in the coming weeks. Both teams are practically out of semifinal contention, having won just one of their five games, though both would look to pick a few more points and end the tournament on respectable note. Even more so for Bangladesh, who have looked utterly flat in this edition.
They, though, would hope for a good turnout at the venue because of the support that the team historically enjoys here. Pacer Taskin Ahmed played up the crowd factor, saying, “When there’s a crowd cheering us on, it gives us motivation. With the match in Kolkataa lot of people from Bangladesh will come to watch the match and there will be our Bengali brothers from here whose support will obviously inspire us.” (READ MORE)
