Grameenphone Tri-Nation Cup, Bangladesh – Srilanka – Zimbabwe
‘Like a final’
It seemed that the whole Bangladesh team wanted to take inspiration from the very familiar words ‘anything can happen in cricket’ ahead of their do-or-die challenge against the Sri Lankans in today’s tri-series match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
The disappointing 38-run defeat against Zimbabwe in the opening match has left a tough job for the Tigers to make an unlikely entry to the final as they go to the last match against their formidable opponents, who demolished the Zimbabweans by 130 runs, in a must-win situation.
A victory of any margin would put Mohammad Ashraful’s men in Friday’s final but in that case they have to do a miracle considering the fact that they have only had one victory under their belt in the previous 24 encounters. On top of that their recent batting performance has also been terrible.
Under pressure Bangladesh captain Ashraful didn’t turn up to talk to the media prior to the match but his deputy Mashrafe Bin Mortaza said that that it’s a tough task but not impossible.
“There is pressure obviously when you play a big team like Sri Lanka but I hope that doesn’t affect us tomorrow. It is like a final for us because we can only stay in the tournament if we win,” said the Bangladesh vice-captain Mashrafe, who is likely to open the bowling with debutant Rubel Hossain, when he was asked whether the team was under the same kind of pressure that Ashraful spoke of after the defeat against Zimbabwe.
“We will stay positive. Sri Lanka are a top side but our survival depends on beating them. Positive cricket for us would be to do the right things and sticking to the game plan in all departments,” he added.
The bravehearted cricketer also believed that they are capable of defeating any team.
“I don’t think (Bangladesh’s problem was in ability). We have the ability and players have shown that they are capable of wonderful things. I think the problem is in the mind and we tend to lose focus every now and then,” he observed.
He also dismissed the notion that Bangladesh can only win against big teams when conditions favour them on a given day and not through the skills of the players.
“That is a very unfair opinion. We have beaten teams in different conditions home and away. And to play good cricket we don’t need a good day. We have pushed teams regularly but maybe haven’t had the results,” he said.
“The players have given their all and we rejoice or feel disappointed in the same way fans do in regards to the success and failure of the Bangladesh team. I hope people realise that it is the players who win games through hard work and should support us,” he added.
But undoubtedly they have to come out from their brittle top-order batting if they want to prove their capability. It has been the main concern for the Tigers as the bowlers continued their impressive showing even in the last match against Zimbabwe but Mashrafe assured that they worked out on the mistakes to get out of the problem areas.
“We have analysed our problems after the defeat to Zimbabwe. We have seen that a number of the batsmen have been getting out in the same manner repeatedly. Also, there is not enough support for someone who is well set and we would need a batsman or two to go on and play 50 overs,” said Mashrafe.
Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene however ensured that they are not going to take the match lightly despite Bangladesh’s poor record against them.
“We never take any game softly. To us it is important to win every match we play and we always try to do that. We want our players to continue improving and get better all the time. We don’t want any let ups,” Jayawardene said.
“I am sure they have had a few things to worry about because it was a game they were expected to win. I am also pretty certain that they would want to come out strong because this is a must-win match for them,” he added when asked whether he thinks Bangladesh will be demoralised after the loss to Zimbabwe.
TEAMS
BANGLADESH: Tamim Iqbal, Zunaed Siddiqui, Mohammad Ashraful (captain), Rokibul Hassan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Nayeem Islam, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mahbubul Alam, Rubel Hossain.
SRI LANKA (from): Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wicketkeeper), Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekera, Muttiah Muralidaran, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Kandamby, Dilhara Fernando, Dhammika Prasad and Thilina Thushara Mirando
Courtesy: thedailystar.net
