Bangladesh will begin their 2015 ICC World Cup campaign today against Afghanistan at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Star Sports 1 will transmit the Pool A game live from 9:30am.
The Tigers will be desperate for a winning start although it will be anything but easy against the dangerous Associate side. The two sides have met each other only once before with the Afghans beating their illustrious opponents by 32 runs in the 2014 Asia Cup in Fatullah.
Afghanistan’s win created a stir in the cricket world as it was not only their maiden appearance in the Asia Cup but their victory over Bangladesh came in just their fourth ODI against a Test-playing nation. Afghanistan’s win was lauded in many quarters, considering that they only took four matches before registering their first competitive victory compared to Bangladesh’s first triumph in 28 attempts.
In that eventful Asia Cup encounter, Bangladesh were dismissed for 222 with 13 balls remaining, chasing 254. From a relatively comfortable position of 161/4, the Tigers lost four wickets for just four runs, a morale-shattering defeat staring right at their faces. National discard Ziaur Rahman tried his best to change the situation with a quickfire 22-ball 41, but it proved to be inadequate at the end.
This time, however, Zia is not a part of the Tigers’ World Cup setup. A bad run of form saw the all-rounder losing his place in the side after the ODI series at home against India last year.
Zia, currently busy with the ongoing National Cricket League, might not be playing today but he is closely following his teammates on television and in the newspaper.
And ahead of their crucial opener, the 28-year old told Dhaka Tribune that Bangladesh should not worry as he thinks that the Tigers are a much better side than Afghanistan. Zia also believes their loss against the Afghans was an upset.
“I think everyone will agree that Bangladesh are far better than Afghanistan, both on pen and paper. That day (Asia Cup), we did a few things wrong while they made sure of not doing anything silly. Actually, it was an upset,” he said yesterday.
“(Sohag) Gazi got injured while fielding so he was unable to bowl and bat properly. Both our bowling and batting were hampered that day through Shakib al Hasan and Mashrafe bin Mortaza in that game.
“They (Afghanistan) play power cricket whereas Bangladesh play sensibly. I will expect the Bangladesh players to be sensible on the day, play their role well and stick to the basics. Then, we will win for sure.”
The Tigers are heading to their opening game on the back of four consecutive losses in warm-ups but Zia is of the opinion that once they take the field today, normalcy will return.
“Preparation was never 100 percent as we lost all the practice matches but I believe once we take the field, everything will be fine. We are determined to give our best in the tournament and I hope we will be able to pull out some wins,” he said.
