21 March - Hamilton - Bangladesh Captain Nigar Sultana pre-match press conference
Reporter: I just want to know the group looked pretty shattered after the match against the West Indies. How are you guys doing ahead of the all-important match tomorrow?
Jyoti: I think right now, we are thinking about the next match, and yeah, it was quite disappointing. But we still have three more games left. So we just wanted to focus on that. And I think the girls are trying to get their selves - not giving up anymore, and they're thinking like that - We wanted to come back in the next match. And obviously I think whatever we did in the last match, we don't want to do that do it again.
Reporter: Also, Bangladesh has fought their way out in every single match against every single opposition you have played. Do you think this is something you will take forward in the ODI championship that you will play and you will be part of for the first time?
Jyoti: Now obviously I think this is a huge experience we get from here and we wanted to execute in the next whatever the plan is going. And obviously this is the opportunity we always wanted to be. And we wanted to take all the opportunities from here, all the experiences that we want to execute in the future.
Reporter: You're not playing a lot of big games against big sides outside of the World Cup - Do you think this will affect your performance in bilateral series against top sides. And if yes, how important do you think that's going to be for the development of Bangladesh Cricket?
Jyoti: Obviously, you know, we never played a lot of international matches. Even you can see from 2018 to 2020, we just only played T20 matches, so there is… we played two international matches against Pakistan in 2019.
So no, we never get the opportunity to play a lot of international matches, like ODI matches. So I think now we are getting to the FTP - So we'll get more international match and we're going to get to play against the top teams. So there are a lot of we'll get a lot of experience over there and we wanted to like show to the other teams that even we are capable. So I think it is going to be a big challenge for us and it is going to be a big opportunity for all of us.
Reporter: Good luck first of all with your match against India, surely this is a big match. Every time we face India, we can see a different kind of fight. What will be your spirit for this match?
Nigar Sultana: Yes, of course, we have more experience of playing T20 against India. And I would say that we have a good record against them in T20. After winning the Asia Cup in 2018, we have a different mood while playing against them. Basically, I think that we have a lot of experienced players in our team who have played them before. So, all in all, we've been here for many days and we know about the wickets as well. Since we played in Hamilton last time against Pakistan, we have an idea about the wicket. Today, we spent some time indoors. So, all in all, hopefully, for tomorrow's match since we know the wicket plus we have good playing experience on that wicket. I think we can do well in the match.
Reporter: Jyoti, after this match we have two more, one match with Australia and one match with England, so what do you think if we win one of these three matches, will it be more likely the India match? I mean, which match are you a little more optimistic about?
Nigar: We are still not thinking about the three matches, basically. We are only thinking about the next match with India. And of course, we are thinking about the countries in Asia because we are almost similar, maybe they play more international matches whereas we play lesser matches. So, all in all, I think we are considering the next match so that we can come back with the whole team as a bowling or batting unit.
Annesha: The victory against India in the Asia Cup was a big moment for Bangladesh cricket. After that, perhaps you didn't have such a good performance against India in the ICC T20 World Cup, but you definitely gave good competition. You've seen the Indian side who are making 316 in one day, getting out in 134 another day. They made 277 against Australia. How do you see your bowling attack performing very well against such a volatile, unpredictable batting unit? I mean how do you think you can challenge the batting order?
Nigar: I basically believe a lot on particular days. Because as you said the Indian batting unit is making close to 300 runs in one day, another day maybe 138 or 130. We don't really think that way. And what I believe is that I have a lot of confidence in my bowling unit. Because if you look at the bowlers, they performed very well in every match. I would say if our bowlers can improve even 5%, I think if we can restrict them better, that will make it easier for our batting unit to chase down.
Reporter: And have you discussed any solutions to close these tight matches that you have had to lose some matches even after coming so close? Is there any discussion to overcome those last final barriers that maybe if we try out this then your result may come positive?
Nigar: Basically what I would say is that these situations are actually a lack of experience. Because we have never faced such situations before, that is number one. We have not played much international matches. Because I think when we can play more and more matches, then we can explore the potential that we have. It turns out that we can not make it in some places, we can not cover up in those situations, we can not be mentally calm, there is a problem in decision making and everything. But we are learning day by day, there are a lot of learning areas. The mistake we made with South Africa, we didn't do the same mistake in the next match. Or like what happened with the West Indies match that we couldn't build up a partnership. We have already discussed that among ourselves. I don't think we will make those mistakes again in the next matches. That's how we find many learning areas for the team, and try to work on that. And I think it will help us a lot in the future.
Reporter: Did you discuss 2018's Asia Cup victory before going to this match?
Nigar: When you go against a team, you will think of the good memories against them. Of course, we have good memories against them. But that was a long time ago. The format was also different. So we are now planning our games based on the recent games. And that's exactly what our analysts are trying to convey. So we combine all of them to make our game plan and try to execute it on the field.
Reporter: said that we play fewer matches that is a reason but as a captain what would be your message to the rest of the team about holding nerves?
Nigar: As I said, we're learning every day. Our learning area is growing every day and we are learning from that, also our experience is growing. It seems to me that the mistakes we have already made, we will not make those mistakes next time. And we’ve played so many matches ourselves, I think when we play international matches, we have more places to learn than playing with ourselves, more places to improve. I have already discussed these things with everyone in the team meeting about how to avoid those mistakes and how to play more and more positive cricket in that situation. Basically, as we are playing cricket, maybe it happens sometimes that we're collapsing in 30-40 overs, it's happening. For this reason, maybe we cannot accelerate at that time. More dot balls are there. So if we can improve in those things by 5-10%, I think we can show better cricket in the next match.
Reporter:. Since you are neighbors - India and Bangladesh, there are a lot of Bengali speaking players in the Indian team and are culturally very similar. Are there any players in the Indian team who you like personally or whose game has inspired you personally or if there are players in your team who are senior players or among the Indian players or young players, who like their game personally?
Nigar: Personally, there are many people here who are fans of many Indian players. If I had to take names, one of them is Mithali Raj, I have known her for a long time. I heard of Mithali Raj before I had started playing cricket yet. And I would say that she is an excellent batter who is highly respected and followed by world cricket. She has inspired many players to take to the game. I can't actually mention them now. Many people follow Smriti Mandhana also, we like their cricket. We like their sportsmanship.