Bangladesh face Pakistan in final one-dayer today
Bangladesh will take inspiration from their recent luck in the port city and the century of Nasir Hossain in their previous game when they face Pakistan in the third and final one-dayer at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong today.
The match has only academic interests left after Pakistan took a decisive 2-0 lead in Dhaka despite Nasir’s maiden one-day century to bail out the Tigers from a terrible start of 19-4.
A devastated home side came to charming Chittagong seeking for a consolation win and despite the odds being highly against them they are not completely written off by anyone.
They were under immense pressure when they came here for World Cup 2011 matches with a memory of 58 all out against West Indies spurring them.
They returned with back-to-back wins over England and Netherlands which buried the nightmare and gave them a realistic chance to progress into the quarter-final.
The situation was almost identical in October against West Indies who won first two ODIs in Dhaka very convincingly. Bangladesh’s bowling performance was so poor that they managed to pick up just six West Indian wickets in those two matches.
The same bowling attack restricted West Indies to just 61 in Chittagong to take a sweet revenge of their World Cup defeat. They also dominated the first Test match here before returning to Dhaka for the second test, only to receive a hammering.
The Chittagong part of the series hence revived the Tigers, who are struggling with their batting this time with Nasir being the only exception.
‘People are saying it is our lucky venue, let’s see if we can bring the memory back,’ said vice-captain Mahmudullah. ‘We are trying to lift our confidence thinking about it,’ he added.
Mahmuduallah, one of the main architects of Bangladesh’s win against England at this venue, however is fully aware that fortune favors the brave and they are really inspired by Nasir.
The 20-year old former BKSP student is the youngest member of the side and proving to get matured with every game as he is the top scorer of his side in all three matches of the series including the only Twenty20.
Nasir already revealed the secret of his success by saying that his relaxed attitude and disinclination to take any pressure unlike others are helping him to score some runs.
‘Yes, he is a great motivator for us now,’ admitted Mahmudullah. ‘If he can score runs then we believe we can also do it,’ he said.
Bangladesh however suffered a blow before the game as opener Imrul Kayes was ruled out for a groin injury. BCB physicians confirmed the injury and said the opener is now uncertain for the Test series as well.
The opener was given 48-hour rests and a decision on him will be made only after the period. Pakistan however no injury concern, though skipper Mishab-ul Haq said he will try to make an experiment with the lineup as the series is already won.
‘We want to just give everybody a chance, but at the same time we want to remain a good combination because winning is most important for us,’ said Misbah.
The day-night match will begin at 1:30pm.
-With New Age input
