Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal praised the batting contributions from the comparatively younger members in the line-up in the first match of the three-ODI series against hosts Zimbabwe.
Bangladesh, boosted by the confidence of a comprehensive win in the first game, will take on the home team in the second match of the series at Harare Sports Club Sunday.
Bangladesh will look to add another 10 points to their ICC Men’s World Cup Super League tally, and also secure the series with a game to spare.
In the first match, Bangladesh were in a spot of bother losing Tamim and Shakib al Hasan early after being sent in to bat first.
The visitors however, were pulled out from the misery by Liton Das, who scored 102, along with Afif Hossain’s quick 35-ball 45, and posted 276 runs for Zimbabwe to chase.
“We were in trouble. We often say how important it is for the juniors in the team to perform and [Friday] was an ideal example of that. Liton played with responsibility. It is always easy to talk about a 50 or a 100 but to me even the smallest of contributions is important,” said Tamim to the media Saturday.
“Afif’s innings was very crucial. We would have scored 270 were it not for that innings. We would have been short by 30 or 40 runs. Even [Mehedi Hasan] Miraz’s 22-23 runs was also important. We could have been in big trouble after Mahmudullah bhai got out. It is important to credit the small contributions too. I like to do that,” the Bangladesh skipper added.
“There is no limit to improvement. It is not ideal to lose three wickets with few runs on the board. The team will not fall in trouble if I or Shakib can put some runs on the board. We will try to make use of the opportunity in the next game. I am very happy with our bowling department,” said Tamim.
Tamim speaking of the injury concerns in the dressing room informed that Liton has recovered well overnight, but left-arm Mustafizur Rahman still remains 50-50 in terms of availability.
Tamim himself is dealing with a knee injury but is "managing" to appear for the team as they hunt points in the World Cup Super League.
Bangladesh will not like to break their winning combination, but for Liton if need be.
The right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman hurt his wrist during the first match and in case he is not fit, Nurul Hasan might find himself in the playing XI.
“Everyone knows that I am somehow managing to play these three games with some risk. Liton has improved and may be will be available for [Sunday]. Mustafizur is still 50-50. Will be able to tell about him better this evening [Saturday] otherwise everyone else in the team are doing fine,” informed Tamim.
