Home ›› 07 Aug 2022 ›› Sport
Injury-hit Bangladesh are looking forward to bouncing back strongly against Zimbabwe as they lock horns with the hosts in the second One-Day International of the three-match series to avoid a series defeat today.
The Tigers will be missing star batsman Liton Das for the remainder of the ODI series, denting their firepower.
The right-handed batsman has been one of the consistent performers for Bangladesh across all three formats. Liton was nearing his sixth ODI ton, but could not due to a hamstring injury.
Fielding has been another area of concern for Bangladesh for a long time, and skipper Tamim Iqbal feels that dropping catches are one of the key reasons behind their first defeat against Zimbabwe after nine years.
“Every day I say one thing- fielding, fielding, and fielding. In recent times, we are dropping too many catches. We had to pay the price someday, and maybe today (Friday) was the day. Sometimes we managed to win even after dropping 2-3 catches. But on a wicket like this, you can’t win after dropping four catches,” the ODI skipper told the media after the first ODI in Harare.
Mushfiqur Rahim, who played his first competitive match after performing the holy Hajj, received harsh criticisms for his batting approach. Tamim thinks that not just Mushfiq, but the whole batting group is responsible.
“I think it is unfair to raise finger towards one or two individuals. Everybody wanted to deliver their best. They have performed before. I am not pointing my finger towards my batsmen,” said Tamim.
The last time Bangladesh lost an ODI series against Zimbabwe was in 2013 and to avoid doing so after nine years, the Tigers must win the second match on Sunday.
Tamim hinted that there will be a change in the team combination.
“We have to think before the next match. We have to think about the team combination,” said the ODI captain.
As Liton is out, a change is obvious and Najmul Hossain Shanto is the likely replacement. Bangladesh did not pick any left-arm spinner in the first ODI, possibly the aftereffect of Nasum Ahmed getting bashed by Ryan Burl for 34 runs in an over. But as Shoriful Islam is also carrying a niggle, he could make way for Taijul Islam, who has often enjoyed success against Zimbabwe.
Harare Sports Club ground offers a sound batting track where early morning moisture provides something for the pacers.
“Batting first, the wicket is a bit tricky for the first 10-12 overs but later on it is easy to bat. We had good partnerships but could not finish well,” he said regarding the batting approach.
The ODI captain said that everyone must correct their errors to win the match on Sunday to stay alive in the series.
“Everybody has seen what our mistakes were. We must correct them and bounce back strong” said Tamim.
