Asia Cup: There's a different sort of excitement behind the rivalry
It was the day before the Bangladesh-Hong Kong match. Sri Lanka came to the practice session for the first time that day. Litton Das was entering the practice ground at Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Stadium, wearing his pads and batting gear. On the way, he met Sri Lankan captain Charith Asalanka. Litton, who had just turned down the audience’s request to take picture because he was busy, heading to bat, shook hands with Asalanka.
A similar scene was observed yesterday at the Abu Dhabi Park Rotana Hotel. Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are staying at this five-star hotel for the first round of the Asia Cup. In the lobby, Sri Lankan cricketer Dasun Shanaka ran into Bangladesh's wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan. The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.
There are very common scenes. However, since the 2018 Nidahas Trophy, a meeting between Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan cricketers has meant looking for an extra bit of excitement. The ''timed out'' incident at the 2023 World Cup added more spice to their relationship between the two teams. But before their next meeting today in the Asia Cup match in Abu Dhabi, it seems that everything is back to normal. At least, that's the official statement from the cricketers of both teams.
After the Hong Kong match the night before, Tanzim Hasan, who represented Bangladesh at the press conference, said that they are professional cricketers. The emotions of the spectators cannot affect them. The Lankan captain Asalanka also said that the excitement is apparently only among the spectators.
It is difficult to believe that the emotions and excitement of the spectators do not affect the cricketers at all. Support and jeers from the gallery are born from these emotions and excitement. Does this not have an impact on the cricketers? Asalanka may say, it’s just a game for us. We just have to follow our own plans, but he also admitted, it’s also true that these off-field incidents provide some extra motivation.
For Sri Lanka, the reality is different. Although they are the current champions of the tournament, there isn't much talk about them this time. But captain Asalanka says they are entering the field with the confidence of winning the last Asia Cup
Even if we accept the words of the two team representatives and delegate the excitement to the spectators, there is no denying the on-field rivalry between the two teams. In the 20 matches of T20, Sri Lanka is ahead in 12. However, Bangladesh has won three of the last five matches, including the most recent series on Sri Lankan soil.
Tanzim also believes that winning the July series will provide the team with extra motivation for today's Asia Cup match. He knows what needs to be done against the familiar opponent Sri Lanka, We know each other very well, and we will play accordingly. We will play our best cricket, he said.
The problem is that though Bangladesh won their first tournament match against Hong Kong by 7 wickets, they couldn't play their best game. The cricketers also admit this. The weakest team on paper in the tournament played the full 20 overs against Bangladesh and scored 143 runs.
Bangladesh won by losing three wickets with 14 balls remaining. Even on the rest day yesterday, the cricketers must have had a sense of the regret for not being able to win more convincingly. But that regret can drive them to do something good against Sri Lanka today. Then of course it's not a bad thing.
For Sri Lanka, the reality is different. Although they are the current champions of the tournament, there isn't much talk about them this time. But captain Asalanka says they are entering the field with the confidence of winning the last Asia Cup. Being the champions of the previous series will keep us mentally ahead. Since we were the champions, we believe we can go a long way this time too.
Sri Lanka is going to start that long journey with today's match against Bangladesh. Just as Sri Lanka is a very familiar opponent for Bangladesh, Bangladesh is also a very familiar opponent for Sri Lanka. And from that familiarity, a lot of tension has been a part of the relationship between the two teams in the last few years. According to the cricketers, that tension is only in the gallery, on the field it's just rivalry. But to put it differently, isn't this also a battle for honour?