Bangladesh have to play their best T20 match if they want to turn the tables against mighty Pakistan in their second and final group match and qualify for the Super Eights of the ICC World Twenty20. A win will not be good enough for the Tigers; they have to win the match by a margin that apparently seems beyond their reach but Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim looked as confident as he could be because he did not want to lose the match without any fight against top favourites Pakistan. The little man was going with the popular saying, while speaking to the media in the pre-match briefing yesterday, that ‘nothing is impossible’ in the game of cricket.
“We know that only a win will not be enough for us. We have to win the match by 36 runs or greater if we bat first while we have to wait for the finish of the first innings for the calculations if we bowl first. Apparently we have to achieve the target within 15 to 17 overs if we bat second. We are planning according to the situation because our main motto is to qualify for the second round,” said a confident Mushfiqur.
“Nothing is impossible in cricket, especially in the T20 format and you know Pakistan is not an unbeatable team. You never know, we can achieve our target if we play our best cricket tomorrow. The equation is very simple; we can gain plenty from the match and there is nothing to lose for us and it will be a great achievement if we can do something in tomorrow’s match,” added the wicketkeeper-batsman saying that England were even bowled out for 80 against India the other day.
Mushfiqur however was very much aware of Pakistan’s strength but the Tigers have had the experience of playing against them recently in the Asia Cup in March this year and also playing with their key players during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
“We played a very good final against Pakistan in the Asia Cup at home (where Bangladesh lost by 2 runs) and we know their strength as a team. On the other hand we also have a Pakistani spin bowling coach in Saqlain Mushtaq but the bottom line is that our application in the middle must be right if we want to win the match,” explained Mushfiqur.
“Saeed Ajmal is the main threat and the leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket. We have some plans against him. Now we have to execute them properly in the middle. We could apply ourselves only sixty percent against New Zealand. We must ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes we made against New Zealand in the first game,” said Mushfiqur.
Mushfiqur must also know that for the Tigers to pull off something special today, his two best players Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan must perform their best. He will certainly be hoping for that if the Tigers are to bring a smile to their cricket-crazy supporters back home.
-With The Daily Star input
