The gloom in the face that had typified Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim in the recent times has gone as Bangladesh prepare to take on Afghanistan in the ICC World Twenty20 opening match in Dhaka today. Mushfiq, backed by their two successive win in the warm-up matches, appeared as confident as ever before the crucial match, which has a chance to define the course of the tournament as a whole, if not just the Tigers.
The series of defeats in recent matches, which include one against unfancied Afghans in the Asia Cup, had raised a fear of failure before Bangladesh buried it in two warm-ups, especially against Ireland at Fatullah to regain their confidence.
‘Our first preparation match did not go the way we wanted it,’ Mushfiq said at a pre-match press conference on Saturday. ‘But the last one [against Ireland] went according to our plan. From that point of view, I would say we are now in a better position than the past.’
Bangladesh will be buoyed by the return of mercurial Sakib al Hasan, dashing Tamim Iqbal and experienced Mashrafee bin Murtaza, who all missed the Asia Cup match against the Afghans for varied reasons.
Sakib remained charged up since his three-match suspension ended and Tamim and Mashrafee and made their presence felt in two warm-ups.
Former captain Sakib put in a match-winning performance against Ireland, which renewed the hopes of Tigers, who, in the Asia Cup match against Afghanistan, were badly missing the X-factor that he usually provides.
Mushfiq insisted Bangladesh also had the chance to work on Afghanistan’s weaknesses after the side had come here to play the Asia Cup almost as an unknown force.
Sri Lanka and India exposed the side’s blemishes ruthlessly after they had posted the upset 32-run win over Bangladesh at Fatullah. Afghanistan were also given a harsh reminder of where they really belong in their last warm-up match which they lost by seven wickets against Zimbabwe.
‘In Twenty20 cricket we just cannot write off any side,’ said Mushfiq. It’s all about who plays well on a particular day. You don’t need the whole team to fire in this format, just one or two players can do it. I would expect someone to do it for us as well.
‘Now we know their weaknesses, so we will make plan accordingly,’ said Mushfiq.
Mushfiq added that he was also looking for the footage of Afghanistan’s warm-up match against Zimbabwe. Hamilton Masakadza treated the Afghan bowlers with disdain to score close a century, showing the Bangladeshis that there was little to fear.
‘We are trying to get the video footage of the match. Hopefully we will get it by today. They have some new players for the World Twenty20. SO we have to see them as well,’ said Mushfiq, who refused to brand this game as must win contest.
Only one team will advance to the Super-10 phase from the each preliminary round group, which means the winners of this match will get an edge over others in the remaining two matches. Mushfiq reminded all that Hong Kong and Nepal, the two other teams of Group A, also did well in the warm-up phase and Bangladesh should not take them for granted even if they successfully overcome the barrier of Afghanistan.
‘I don’t want to take it like this,’ Mushfiq said when asked if he thinks today’s game is a knockout contest for Bangladesh.
‘It is important for us to start the tournament on a winning note. But you all know Nepal and Hong Kong also did well in warm-up matches. Our aim is to win the group and this is just our first hurdle,’ he said.
-With New Age input
