Hope for a miracle, and some more

Bangladesh will be taking on Pakistan in their final match of the Super 12 stage in Adelaide on Sunday, but before that, they will be hoping for a miracle earlier in the day.

Bangladesh’s hope for qualification for the semi-finals is still alive as they currently sit fourth with four points in four points. They have South Africa and Pakistan ahead of them, who have five and four points.

For Bangladesh to qualify, the Proteas must lose their match against Netherlands, or the match needs to be washed out.

And then if Bangladesh can beat Pakistan, they will go through with six points and three wins, which is more than the other four sides of the group bar India.

While history beckons Bangladesh and fast bowler Taskin Ahmed hoped for a miracle on Friday, Bangladesh’s record against Pakistan, especially in recent times, speaks against the Tigers.

In the 17 Twenty20 Internationals between the sides, Bangladesh have only won two. And the last of those two came way back in 2016.

In their build-up for the World Cup, Bangladesh faced New Zealand and Pakistan in a tri-series in New Zealand. The Tigers were beaten in both their games against Pakistan, the first by 21 runs and the second by seven wickets.

Bangladesh’s hopes though will not dim, despite their yet another heartbreak against India in their previous match where they lost by just five runs.

They will be hoping Liton Das comes all guns blazing again as he did against India, where he scored 60 off just 27 deliveries before getting run out.

Bangladesh will also look for a better performance from their middle-order, which has been lacklustre throughout this World Cup and it was their collapse that saw the win against India slip out.

The Tigers will hope that their skipper Shakib Al Hasan finally finds some form with the bat in Australia with their match against Pakistan as the left-handed batter hit a fifty against them in the tri-series in New Zealand.

While Bangladesh are still hoping for a semi-final berth, the technical consultant Sridharan Sriram is still focusing just on the match rather than the bigger picture with complex mathematical equations.

“I’ve been very clear in all my press conferences. We’re just taking it one game at a time, plan for one opposition at a time. Every game we want to go, we obviously want to win, but we’re aware of what challenges Pakistan present. We played them in New Zealand just recently, and we have high respect for that team, so we’re going to turn up and be at our best on that day,” he said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

Sriram also not dwelling on the past as he is not worried about the effect of the defeat against India.

“I think it’s a fresh start. We are looking, and I don’t know what happened in the past. Again, I have not been there at all. We won two very close games against Netherlands and Zimbabwe. We lost a close game to India, but that happens. I think I’m looking at it as a fresh start,” the Bangladesh technical consultant said.

He also touched on the fact that Bangladesh are well-prepared for Pakistan considering their clashes in New Zealand.

“I think they’re a very good side. We had opportunities in both games that we played against them in New Zealand. We are aware of their strengths and they’re aware of what our strengths are, so it will be a great contest tomorrow,” Sriram said.

The Bangladesh technical consultant did not want to delve into the question of qualifying for the semis despite being confident of beating Pakistan.

“We believe we can beat Pakistan, but qualifying to the semi-finals is not in our hands, unfortunately,” Sriram said.

Whatever happens on Sunday, this World Cup will be Bangladesh’s most successful in terms of wins as they found two wins, and the Bangladesh technical consultant did not shy away from accepting that fact.

“This is the best tournament Bangladesh has ever had in a T20 World Cup. We’ve never won two games in Super 12s in the history of Bangladesh cricket, so we’ve done that, so I think the boys should be proud of themselves,” he said.

While it has been a campaign to remember for Bangladesh and indeed their best one, at least in terms of points, they will still be hoping for a flamboyant finish with a win against Pakistan in their final match.