Twenty20 is a short game and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan said they still have a chance to turn around from the latest debacle they are going through.
“We didn’t perform well in the last two games so confidence is slightly less than before. But this is the beauty of T20s, you can turn around any time. I don’t think any team can actually predict that they will win,” said Shakib at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
Calculations still have Bangladesh on a slim path to the last four and Shakib said, “Mathematically, we probably still have a chance for a semifinal place. But it will be difficult for us to reach that phase by winning two games. So at this moment, the pressure is off. We are hoping that it would give us the confidence of playing our natural game.”
The 27-year-old, who survived three deliveries in the last two games, hinted his promotion in the batting order and also said their main target was to qualify for the Super 10.
“I don’t think many people expected us to play in the semifinals, but we have reached the Super 10s which was our target. We are focusing on winning both upcoming games.
“If we can beat one of the two big sides at this stage, you can call it an okay tournament for us. When we did poorly, we made it quite worse. We should have played better, been more consistent,” he added.
Meanwhile, Anamul Haque has been the only consistent host batsman in the tournament scoring 166 runs in five matches. He passed 40 in four occasions, but failed to convert it to a bigger score and he informed, “I am not looking at my own runs. The team could have had a bigger score had I converted my 40 into a 70. I think the batsman who’s scoring, has to take the responsibility. I think I should be doing that.”
On the other hand, Pakistan will be looking to win their last two matches and advance to the semi final to keep their record of reaching all World T20 semis intact. Skipper Mohammad Hafeez informed that they can’t afford to make any mistake at this point of time.
“The picture is very much clear in front of us. We have to win each and every game, but we will take it one at a time. We all know as a team that we can’t make any mistakes. We are ready for tomorrow’s game. In the last game, we pulled through a tough situation. Everyone showed great character, which helped us cross the line. It is a great sign for the team,” said Hafeez.