Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim said on Monday they are looking forward to today’s game against Nepal at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in order to get into the Super 10 of the ICC World Twenty20. Both the teams won their opening games as Bangladesh thrashed Afghanistan by nine wickets while Nepal defeated Hong Kong by 80 runs in the Super 10 qualifiers on Sunday.
‘We are not willing to give an inch,’ Mushfiq told reporters at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.
‘We would like to beat them by 10 wickets but we are prepared to get a one-run win over them,’ said Mushfiq.
‘We want to beat them by hook or crook. We can only go forward from here and do not want to go backwards and we have already made a good start,’ he added.
The victory against the Afghan gave the Tigers a breathing space as they had been on the back-foot since their shocking defeat at the hands of the war-torn nation’s side but hardly are they willing to rest on their laurels.
‘But we are in a good position after three wins in a row,’ said Mushfiq.
‘It is difficult to play consistently well in this format because in a shorter version game things can be changed by one batsman or a bowler,’ he said.
Though Nepal is relatively new in the international circuit, Mushfiq said they have had a close look at the opponents during the practice matches at Fatullah and through their videos.
‘We have some plans against them,’ said Mushfiq.
‘Though they are not known to us as they don’t play a lot but still we have seen some qualifying matches of theirs while we also saw the practice matches at Fatullah,’ the Bangladesh captain said.
‘Twenty20 is a dangerous format and anything can happen as there is no small or big team in this format.’
Mushfiq said Bangladesh were focused on keeping the up momentum after the win against Afghanistan.
‘The main target is to continue with this momentum although we have just won the last game. We won three games in a row and though it was our only win but certainly there is a momentum and Twenty20 cricket is all about momentum,’ said Mushfiq.
The only concern, according to the skipper, was the wicket that has grass on it.
‘The wicket here is a bit a different but with the side we have we hope to adjust to it. It seemed it is not a usual Twenty20 wicket as there are some grasses on it,’ said the right-handed batsman-wicketkeeper.
‘As it is a night game we might play an extra pace bowler though we are not sure about it and we will select the playing eleven at the last moment.
‘Normally spinners won’t get that much turn and we are confident that the spinners we have will do well in all formats. It is a well balanced side and we have Rubel, Mashrafee, Al-Amin and Farhad bhai,’ said Mushiq.
‘We will play Mashrafee even in this condition as there is no replacement for him. We want to win tomorrow’s [today’s] match and take a step towards the Super 10 and that is our biggest focus,’ he concluded.
-With New Age input
