Ireland would take inspiration from Zimbabwe鈥檚 triumph over Bangladesh in the previous Test held at the Sylhet International Stadium, according to their captain Andrew Balbirnie.聽
Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by three wickets in April this year after Blessing Muzarabani ran riot over the hosts.聽
Bangladesh will face Ireland at the very same venue in the first of the two Tests starting today.聽
鈥榃e saw what Zimbabwe did here earlier on in the year, and we had just played Zimbabwe. So, we can look at those performances and take a bit of confidence,鈥� Balbirnie told reporters at the pre-match press conference in Sylhet on Monday.聽
Balbirnie, however, acknowledged that they would have to play well to beat the hosts. He also dubbed Bangladesh 鈥榝avourite鈥� in the series.聽
鈥楤ut at the same time, we can鈥檛 really just expect it to happen. We鈥檝e got to come out and play good cricket. Whether we鈥檙e batting first or bowling first, we鈥檝e got to be very disciplined,鈥� he said.
鈥業 think the guys are just excited about doing that. And, you know, I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e going to be favourites in this series, but I think the gap is a bit closer than maybe when we played the last Test match here,鈥� he added.
The Ireland skipper also showed little anxiety over the wicket of the Sylhet Stadium.聽
鈥業 never try to get too caught up with the wickets in the days leading up to it. There are a lot of times where I鈥檝e thought a wicket will do something, and it鈥檚 done something different,鈥� Balbirnie said.
鈥楾hey seem to have taken a bit more grass off than what we thought they would, but that鈥檚 all part of playing away from home 鈥� you鈥檝e no control over the conditions, and it鈥檚 just about adapting pretty quickly,鈥� he added.
This will be Ireland鈥檚 second Test in 2025 after playing Zimbabwe in February.