Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza found much positives from the first match against visiting Zimbabwe, and expressed hope that the Tigers will show a more clinical performance in the second and penultimate ODI in Chittagong and clinch the series.
Bangladesh were in trouble during the middle period of the first game at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Sunday, struggling on 139 for the loss of six wickets.
But a record-breaking 127-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Imrul Kayes and Saifuddin saw Bangladesh get over the line and post a challenging total in the end.
Mashrafe said the Tigers have plenty of positives to take forward from the match, and will definitely try to perform better in the upcoming games.
“Imrul played a brilliant innings. Nazmul Islam Apu bowled very well by bringing us two breakthroughs. I think we should also look at the way Saifuddin performed when we needed a pace-bowling all-rounder. We can take a step up through his performance. Even his own confidence will go up. We needed a wrist spinner and pace-bowling all-rounder. If they can play like this, we can lift our game one step more. Now it’s time to continue the good performances,” said Mashrafe to the media after training at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Cricket Stadium Tuesday.
@BCBtigers wicketkeeper-batsman @mushfiqur15 is the biggest inspiration to opener Imrul Kayes.https://t.co/qmBifhKiOa#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #CRICKET #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHCRICKET #IMRULKAYES #MUSHFIQURRAHIM #IMRUL #KAYES #MUSHFIQ #MUSHFIQUR #RAHIM #MUSHFIQRAHIM #ZC #ZIMBABWE
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) October 22, 2018
Mashrafe indicated that recovering from a mini batting collapse and still going on to register a challenging total on the scoreboard will give confidence to the team.
“Actually as a captain I was happy the way Imrul and Saifuddin turned around the game for us. Saifuddin also batted really well. Sometimes top-order gets regular runs, and then suddenly, middle-order or lower-order get exposed in a crucial game. We turned back from a difficult situation. It gave our team confidence. Such experience will help us in big tournaments,” said the 35-year old.
Having said that, Bangladesh still need to improve in certain areas, considering the match-scenario in the first ODI.
For instance, bowling in the death overs could have been better.
To add to that, the mini batting collapse could have been handled better.
Opening batsman Imrul Kayes made his highest ODI score not only to salvage @BCBtigers' innings but also proved his worth as a senior top-order batsman months before the @cricketworldcup.https://t.co/uwpIillyjj#IMRULKAYES #IMRUL #KAYES #BANGLADESH #BCBTIGERS #CRICKET #ZIMBABWE
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) October 21, 2018
Mashrafe agreed and pointed out certain areas where they can improve in the upcoming matches.
“Losing three quick wickets from a commanding position is also not expected. We need to improve our performance on that. Another thing is, when one of our top-order batsman scores hundred or 150, in that case we should score at least 300. This an area of concern for me. Other batsmen also should give good support when someone scores a big hundred, so that the score can pass 300. We need to adjust to it soon,” he said.
Mashrafe have a few options in the squad as far as rotation is concerned but hinted it would be tough to rotate at the moment as the next match is a series-decider.
“It’s tough to rotate actually. We have Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Ariful Haque and Abu Haider Rony in the squad. But since it’s a series-deciding match, it’s tough to change the combination. The decision will be taken before the match after discussing with the coach and the selectors,” Mashrafe concluded.
