‘We can draw from the Asia Cup’

A slippery match against Afghanistan to start a march towards a difficult equation is reminiscent of a quandary Bangladesh faced last year, when the team appeared to be a much more embattled state than the current side that has been impressing most World Cup observers.

In September 2018, having lost to Afghanistan in the Asia Cup group stage and to India in the first match of the Super Four stage, Bangladesh needed to win their last two games against Afghanistan and Pakistan to make the final of the tournament. They had lost talismanic opener Tamim Iqbal to injury in the first match of the tournament and by the time they played the Pakistan game, had waved goodbye to their most important member in all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, also because of injury.

However, through some nerveless performances and out-of-the box tactics, Bangladesh dug deep and reached the final and almost won it against India. In the ongoing World Cup, the Tigers facing a similar scenario -- having to win their last three games against Afghanistan, India and Pakistan to qualify for the semifinals.

Coach Steve Rhodes said that they could draw on the Asia Cup experience for inspiration for the challenge up ahead.

“I can draw on the experience of the Asia Cup. We nearly won the final,” Rhodes said in the pre-match press conference yesterday. “We all know what’s in front of us. If you break it down, we only need to win five games to win the World Cup. It is one way of looking at it, if you treat it all as knockout games. It is not going to be easy, and the first step is Afghanistan.

During the Asia Cup, skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza also said that once it became a knockout scenario, there was no option but to focus just on the next game. While that has become standard sports speak, a do-or-die scenario ensures that the attitude is embodied fully, because unless the next match is won, the rest become pointless.

“We are not looking further than them,” he said, but urged for balance in the approach. “If we think it is a do-or-die game and think too hard, you can put too much pressure on yourself. My job is to make sure we concentrate on the game, and we do smart things and play well. If we try too hard and put too much pressure on ourselves, we might not get the result that we want. We are confident. Who knows if we win game after game?”