No clear favourites in final, says Nasir

Dhaka Dynamites all-rounder Nasir Hossain denied they will be clear favourites when they take on Rajshahi Kings on Friday in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 2016-17 season in Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. “I don’t think we are the clear favourites in the final. We have to perform well to beat Rajshahi. Rajshahi are a very balanced team. They have played good cricket. That’s why they are in the final. I think the team which make less errors on the field will take the trophy in the end,” Nasir told the media on Thursday. Dhaka have been beaten twice by Rajshahi in the round robin stage but Nasir believes it will count for little when the grand finale commences at the home of cricket in Mirpur. “It will be a big match for both the teams. Both the teams will be under pressure. Yes, we have lost two times against them in the round robin stage. But that will not count. I don’t think it will create pressure for us that we have lost against them before. Our work is to perform better in the field. And that’s what we will try to do,” he said. Nasir has scored 190 runs in nine innings so far at an average of 21.11 and the right-handed batsman has admitted that his batting has not been upto the mark. “I had chance to score more. Unfortunately, it did not happen. Personally, I am not satisfied much with my batting. Hopefully I will play better in the final and contribute more for the team. And as for bowling, we have plenty of all-rounders in the team. So I had limited chances to bowl. But it’s the batting that I am concentrating more on at the moment,” he said. Nasir is of the opinion that their main strength lies with their star-studded all-rounders line-up but added that Rajshahi too have their share of all-rounders, namely captain Darren Sammy, New Zealander James Franklin and England's Samit Patel. Nasir therefore, reckons it will be an exciting final. “We have a team based on all-rounders. We have plenty of bowling options. That’s our strength. But Rajshahi have good players as well. So it will be a good match,” he said.