Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza praised batsman Tamim Iqbal for the courage he showed to help the side make a last minute in the batting and inspire the bowlers to carry the moment that ensured a winning start in the ACC Asia Cup 2018.
The side riding on Mushfiqur Rahim century and boosted with Tamim’s unprecedented heroic registered one of the greatest comebacks in ODI history to seal a 137-run win against Sri Lanka at Dubai International Stadium on Saturday.
Mushfiqur propelled Bangladesh total to 261 runs with his flamboyant 144-run innings while Tamim, who broke his wrist early on, came back not only to help Mushfiq made a late slash but also ignited immense inspiration among the Tigers to defend the score.
An absolute Inspirational stuff from Tamim. What a star ? pic.twitter.com/0s9Ex0J7jA
— Fahmi Riyaz (@fahmi_riyaz) September 15, 2018
Mashrafe, who himself has become the symbol of valor by his sheer presence amid excruciating pain on many occasion, thought Tamim’s bravery will be remembered for years.
“It was Tamim’s decision (to go and take the strike). One should remember Tamim for this match. Anything could have happened. His career could have been affected. Mushfiqur was boosted by his reappearance at that stage. Hats off to Tamim for going out to bat at that time,” Mashrafe said following the game at DIS on Saturday.
Concern has been raised over Tamim’s availability in the remainder of the tournament. Although the team management has decided to take some time before coming to a decision, the intensity of the injury has put Tamim in doubt.
“We still don’t know what’s going on with him. The scan has to be done again, in two days. There’s a little fracture for sure, but we have to find out how bad it is. Not having him is a big blow but we have some players in the bank,” Mashrafe informed.
Bangladesh losing Tamim to the fracture will have to come up with solution to the opening pair. Mashrafe said the debacle will present a big opportunity for a youngster to step up on the team’s need if Tamim is ruled out from action. The Tigers in their second and final group game will face Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Bangladesh start the Asia Cup with a bang! https://t.co/ilHIsnnbuG #BANvSL #AsiaCup2018 pic.twitter.com/a6qS39QtAk
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 15, 2018
