'We've got the ability to push anyone' - Siddons

They felled India at the World Cup and West Indies in the World Twenty20 in 2007 but Bangladesh want to shed the reputation of being giant killers. Coach Jamie Siddons believes that his team is ready to perform with the consistency that's befitting a top side to stop higher-rated opponents from merely considering them banana skins that need to be treaded upon with caution.

"I've always said that's not the reputation I want," Siddons said on the eve of their tournament opener against India in Nottingham. "I call it a fluke if you win one in 50 or 40 games. We've got really good depth in batting and bowling. I think we've moved on from the fluke win and we've got the ability to push anyone.

"The other teams are rated higher than us, and are better teams on their day, but we're more consistent now and if they slip up we're quite capable of jumping all over them."

Bangladesh's solitary victory in the inaugural World Twenty20, however, resulted in them being pooled with India and Ireland, giving them an excellent opportunity to qualify for the Super Eights once again. Siddons doesn't want his team to wait until the match against Ireland to secure a berth in the next round and he urged his charges to go after India. "If we do [beat India], we don't have to worry about the following game against Ireland," Siddons said. "We don't want to wait for that to get ourselves into the Super Eight. If we win tomorrow we don't have to worry about that game really. It'll be a bonus, a practice game."

India's captain MS Dhoni is expecting Bangladesh to play in an aggressive frame of mind, to play shots, and push hard for a large target, because they don't have anything to lose. "They are a side that doesn't have a fear of failure, they'll come out and play the kind of cricket they want to play in a Twenty20 game," Dhoni said. "Once they have got that target - 165 to 170 - they can really put pressure on the opposition."

While Bangladesh are certainly the underdogs, and have to live up to lesser expectations, to say they have nothing to lose would be to ignore the passion with which they play their cricket and overlook the enthusiasm of their supporters. Bangladesh too, although not to India's degree, have a massive fan base at home and their performances are dissected nearly as intensely as India's. A step-up from causing the one-off shock to being able to stretch opponents consistently - if not string together a few wins - would help change the way their cricket team is perceived. "We've got 140 or 150 million people who want us to do well," Siddons said. "Every time we lose they are in pain and everytime we win they're happy. They mean a lot to us"

Bangladesh have been in England preparing for the World Twenty20 longer than most other teams. They played five practice matches, winning two against minnows and losing the other three against tougher teams. However, in each of those defeats, Bangladesh competed: New Zealand won off the last ball, Sri Lanka with only two balls to spare, and Bangladesh's batsmen took 181 runs off Australia's attack.

They ended up losing all those games because of certain periods in which they conceded too much ground: they scored only 33 off the last five overs against New Zealand, lost too many wickets in the first ten against Sri Lanka, and allowed Australia's batsmen too many runs during the Powerplay. To beat India, they will have to bring their A game and play with sustained excellence for the majority of the 40 overs.

"I think every team is realising now that it's just not about blazing away because if you lose three wickets in the first six overs you're in trouble," Siddons said. "As Dhoni said the other day, if you slip with the bat in two overs you lose the game."

Few people will give Bangladesh a chance against India. Man to man they are outmatched in terms of skill, power and experience. Siddons, however, felt that his team was capable of beating anyone. "They all have been around for 12 to 13 months. Although you might say they are young, I don't think they are young anymore. It's time for them to stand up. Their inexperience isn't an excuse anymore."

For Bangladesh, the first step in England will be to beat India. The next will be to prove it wasn't a fluke.