‘Bangladesh have the confidence and belief to win’

Even though Afghanistan outplayed Bangladesh to level the 3-match ODI series, Tigers captain Mashrafe Mortaza does not want to dwell in the collective failure and allow any negativity to affect his team's approach for the final game on Saturday at Mirpur Stadium.

"Definitely have the confidence and belief and we have to play with that and I don't think that after losing one game all the work that we have done so far and all our achievements so far, all that doesn't end with just one defeat." Mashrafe explained to the media.

"Obviously the players and the staff members were all disappointed but that doesn't mean that we have forgotten all the good work that we have done . This was a bad day and this happens in any sport. If we think about that and get on the field it will be difficult for us so we are trying to get on the field mentally free," Tigers skipper added.

Bangladesh performed poorly with the bat and ball in the 2-wicket defeat on Wednesday, something Mashrafe was brutally honest about when he faced the media after the match. The fact that batsmen could not go on to make a decent score after getting a start is a headache Mashrafe wants to get rid of.

Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah Riyad all got out in the 20s after spending some time at the crease. It was quite evident that the top-order batters could not play the expansive strokes early on the slow, low pitch at Mirpur.

After doing the hard work to get their eyes in, Bangladesh batsmen were guilty of poor shot selection that brought their untimely demise. Mashrafe would want the top-order to fire in all cylinders in the crucial match on Saturday since some of the middle-order batters are not in top form at the moment.

For Tigers captain Mashrafe, there seems to be no substitute for runs at the top, something Bangladesh fans would hope to see in the games ahead.