'I'm always looking to attack'

It is now a different Tamim Iqbal that one gets to see in international cricket as the left-hander has adopted a much more composed approach.

The experienced campaigner is now very assured in his batting.  Tamim however made it clear that he never goes to the middle with a defensive mindset; instead he always prefers an attacking approach that ensures maximum scoring opportunities like he showed during a blazing 125-ball 157 at BKSP yesterday in a Dhaka Premier League match.

“It may happen I will score 50 from 70 balls but I always go to the middle with an attacking mindset because it can only ensure that you will utilise the maximum scoring opportunities. It may not possible to make a big one in every match but if you go with a defensive mindset you can even duck the loose balls,” said Tamim Iqbal while talking about his outstanding innings that featured 18 fours and seven sixes.

By making 157 runs, Tamim became the highest List A Bangladeshi scorer at home but to the batsman the most satisfying fact was that he contributed valuable runs even after making a hundred.

“I was struggling till the 50-run mark and you know my first big shot, which was a six, came in the ninth over of the match. But I knew that if I could spend some time in the middle it will be a different ball game for me later and that's why I concentrated on singles and twos. It's always important for me to spend some time in the middle and I always target one or two bowlers,” he explained.

“The best part of my innings was that I did not give up after making a hundred despite the scorching heat. If I lost my composure after scoring a hundred my team might even have missed the opportunity to cross 250 runs and in that case there would be no significance to my hundred,” he continued.

Tamim also expressed his satisfaction over the national players' performance so far in the league. “We are going to play a big tournament like the ICC Champions Trophy and before that we have a tri-series in Ireland and no doubt the level of competition and the conditions will be totally different, but when you make a big score at any level it will definitely help a lot. It's nice to see that the national cricketers performing well. You know the clubs hired the national cricketers with high expectations and it's always good if you can fulfil their demands.”