Sri Lanka winning the ODI series against Bangladesh with a match to spare on Thursday was the first defeat the Tigers suffered under coach Shane Jurgensen.
“It was pretty tough. We are playing against a strong team like Sri Lanka. We haven’t played our best cricket, it is still to come. We have to make sure to be positive tomorrow (today),” said Jurgensen to the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
"We have a lot to play for tomorrow. We need to just come and play really good cricket. I will highlight the positives. When you have a younger team and such things happen, confidence goes down quickly,” he added.
The positive results for Bangladesh in last 18 months had boosted the side mentally. However, the series defeat and some dressing room tensions right ahead of the two mega events – Asia Cup 2014 followed by the ICC World Twenty20 2014 - is expected to affect the side’s mindset. However according to Jurgensen, these will not panic his cricketers.
"I think our [Bangladesh's] one-day form has been outstanding previous to this series," Jurgensen said. "Here we have lost two matches in a row. There seems to be a lot of people outside the group who are panicking but I am not panicking at all. We were in a good position in the last game, but we couldn't finish it off. It was the same in both games.
"If we can tidy things up a little bit, we can get the result we want. It is a good thing that there is a quick turnaround, there isn't a big break between matches. All the boys are physically good too,” said the 37-year old from Queensland.
Both batting and bowling of Bangladesh has seen errors in the bilateral series against Sri Lanka but it is the poor fielding and catching that has raised concerns for many.
"I think sometimes in these situations, people will over-analyse things. We have been creating chances. We haven't quite nailed it. The boys are copping a bit of flak at the moment. We can't take any pressure. We are a good one-day team. We know what we have to do, but we have to come out and do it. No explanations for what we are doing, we have to look forward," said Jurgensen.
