Tigers eager to pounce

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza said that they are very excited ahead of their final group game against New Zealand at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff today.

“The atmosphere in the dressing room is vibrant. Everyone wants to win this game. We know it won't be easy but if we can do well as a unit which has been our strength we have a chance of a positive result,” Mashrafe told reporters yesterday.

This is also a game in which Bangladesh can fancy their chances of progressing into the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy provided that they beat the Black Caps and England do them a favour by defeating Australia the next day.

But the Bangladesh captain, who is the lone survivor of the team that famously won against Australia at this very ground 12 years ago, said that he was not interested in thinking of a semifinal berth.

“We want to finish this game on a high which will be an achievement in itself and let's see what happens next. When we came here we knew we are in a very difficult group. We may not have been at our best in the last two games. We have committed a few mistakes but I don't think we were disappointing against England and Australia,” said the inspirational Bangladesh captain, adding that they were lucky to escape with a point against the Aussies, but that they are ready to make it count.

He said that Bangladesh are not a team that frequently score 300 runs.

“It's a habit we are still not used to. We have scored 305 against England. But we are now aware that we missed the chance to score another 30 runs which could have been crucial. Against Australia we scored 182 but we were a bit unlucky to lose Shakib [Al Hasan] at a crucial time. Had he been there we could have scored 250-plus; that could have been a fighting total,” Mashrafe retorted when asked whether his team had failed to perform as a unit.

He said that everyone was fit enough to play, including opener Tamim, who bruised his right rib while batting against Australia.

The Bangladesh captain observed that the conditions are not certainly ideal for the Tigers and that they suit teams like New Zealand. But he was confident that if they get an opportunity this time they are not going to waste it like they did on the tour of New Zealand at the turn of the year.

“We created chances in New Zealand but we could not grab them. But this time if we get a chance we will give everything to grab it. We will have to play hard,” said the pace bowler when talking about a tour of New Zealand where Bangladesh failed to win a single match across formats. 

An apologetic Mashrafe said that he was a bit late coming to the press briefing as he was having a good look at the wicket.

“The wicket looks good. There is a bit of grass and they (grounds man) are cutting it. Still, we will have to look at the wicket tomorrow morning to make our decision. But whatever it is we will be positive and definitely we will play with five bowlers,” he said.

When asked how it felt being the lone survivor of the famous victory against Australia at this ground in 2005, he said: “It was 11 years back. The whole stadium has changed and it is hard recognise it since it has gone through a lot development”.

He also said that Bangladesh's batting is not just about Tamim.

“He is playing fantastic cricket. But we have the firepower in the middle. Mushfiqur [Rahim] scored against England, Shakib got a start against Australia, Mahmudullah [Riyad] was in good form in Ireland. So, if they come to the party we can even win from a disadvantageous position,” the captain said, adding that the rain stayed away today.