To most people here, the final of the Under-19 World Cup will be played on Sunday, five days ahead of schedule. India take on Pakistan in the semi-final at the Bangabandhu Stadium, after the latter’s shock defeat today at the hands of England.No one here is complaining, though. For one, this match itself will, say ICC and BCB officials, help the tournament recover a lion’s share of the losses in terms of gate receipts after hosts Bangladesh failed to make it to the Super League.For another, it means that one of the two subcontinental giants will be in the final — and another full house.However, the Indians would be attempting to treat the match just like any bother, as coach Robin Singh had said yesterday. he repeated that today: ‘‘It doesn’t matter who we play. We are doing well and if we play like this, if we can bat for 50 overs, we can beat most teams. The only thing to guard against is over-confidence.’’Team manager Ram Babu Gupta echoed his words: ‘‘We are not particularly bothered about who we are playing as long as we take the ground and do our bit properly. We are a confident lot and playing against all teams are the same.’’Those views could sound a bit boastful but, when seen in context, it’s not so. Except for a slight hiccup against South Africa in the opening match of the Super League, the Indians have easily been the most impressive of the lot. Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu with the bat, Dinesh Karthik both in front of and behind the stumps, Abhishek Sharma and Praveen Gupta with the spin: any team would be confident. But the fielding has been a worry so far, and Robin had a long session with the team at the Dhaka Cantonment ground early morning today to iron out the flaws. ‘‘Yes, we didn’t field well in the last match and that might be a crucial thing in the coming matches, so that’s an area we have to concentrate on’’, he said.Despite Saturday being a nationwide strike, the team will be off for another practice session early in the morning ‘‘with a focus on the fielding and stretching exercises’’, Gupta said.There is one good omen in the neighbours clashing in the semis: had it been in the final, it would have been played on a Friday. And we all know what happens when India play Pakistan in cricket on a Friday.
