Bishwajit Roy
Today is the chance for the
Tigers to take a 3-0 lead and confirm the series with two matches
remaining when they take on Zimbabwe in the third ODI at Mirpur. The
momentum is with them, yet some fine tuning may still be needed, but
everything is in favour of the hosts.
On the other hand, the confidence of the opponents hit rock bottom after a series of defeats on the tour, so the desire and expectation is that the home side will show their killer instinct and finish off the job. A loss may still not spoil their party but they cannot afford it at this moment and cannot wait to celebrate their first ODI series victory this year.
Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza also exuded confidence while talking at the pre-match briefing yesterday but at the same time he was cautious against complacency. "Every match is a new match and we have to make a fresh start," was the message from the skipper. "At this moment it is very important to win the series, especially if you consider our performance this year. We want to go to the World Cup with confidence," the Narail Express added.
The captain sought a more consistent performance from his side as he believes that everything has yet to click together. He also spoke in favour of batting-order changes if a situation like the second game arises, before finally making it clear that the spinners will play the leading role on way to fulfilling the team's desire, despite the fact that the dew-factor is there.
And without any doubt the Bangladesh captain will love to see his main spinner comes up with his best once again.
It might not be an exaggeration to say that the Zimbabweans are gripped with Shakib-phobia in the series. The talismanic all-rounder can change the course of a game singlehandedly and the visitors experienced it this series. So, apart from the outcome of the match, the focus will be to see how strongly the all-rounder comes back after an off-day in the second game to confirm his side's series win.
He scored a golden duck but had very economical figures in bowling with one wicket in the match, but Shakib is a player who will not be happy to stay out of the limelight for a second successive game, especially when he is in superb form.
Satisfaction is not a word which goes with the all-rounder as he is always hungry for success, so Zimbabwe have reasons to be afraid of, but Mashrafe knows he and the others have to complete the job if Shakib plays unlike Shakib and fails to perform.
Tamim
Iqbal missed what could have been a deserved century in the second ODI
against Zimbabwe at Chittagong a few days back. Will the dashing
left-hander run harder to reach that mark in the third ODI at Mirpur
today? Photo: Firoz Ahmed
On the other hand, the confidence of the opponents hit rock bottom after a series of defeats on the tour, so the desire and expectation is that the home side will show their killer instinct and finish off the job. A loss may still not spoil their party but they cannot afford it at this moment and cannot wait to celebrate their first ODI series victory this year.
Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza also exuded confidence while talking at the pre-match briefing yesterday but at the same time he was cautious against complacency. "Every match is a new match and we have to make a fresh start," was the message from the skipper. "At this moment it is very important to win the series, especially if you consider our performance this year. We want to go to the World Cup with confidence," the Narail Express added.
The captain sought a more consistent performance from his side as he believes that everything has yet to click together. He also spoke in favour of batting-order changes if a situation like the second game arises, before finally making it clear that the spinners will play the leading role on way to fulfilling the team's desire, despite the fact that the dew-factor is there.
And without any doubt the Bangladesh captain will love to see his main spinner comes up with his best once again.
It might not be an exaggeration to say that the Zimbabweans are gripped with Shakib-phobia in the series. The talismanic all-rounder can change the course of a game singlehandedly and the visitors experienced it this series. So, apart from the outcome of the match, the focus will be to see how strongly the all-rounder comes back after an off-day in the second game to confirm his side's series win.
He scored a golden duck but had very economical figures in bowling with one wicket in the match, but Shakib is a player who will not be happy to stay out of the limelight for a second successive game, especially when he is in superb form.
Satisfaction is not a word which goes with the all-rounder as he is always hungry for success, so Zimbabwe have reasons to be afraid of, but Mashrafe knows he and the others have to complete the job if Shakib plays unlike Shakib and fails to perform.
Published: 12:00 am Wednesday, November 26, 2014
