Bangladesh are determined to keep their winning
spree to further bolster their confidence as they take on Ireland in the
third and final ODI tomorrow (Sunday) at County Ground in Chelmsford,
England.
The match starts at 3.45 PM (Bangladesh Time) and will be live streamed on
the ICC website (icc.tv).
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the series as they pulled off the heist,
chasing down a 320-run target for a three-wicket victory in the second game
after the first match was washed out due to rain.
The manner in which they won the second game will give them a confidence
further to cope with the style of modern cricket. Bangladesh were talking
about chasing or posting runs closer to 350-run for some days to fulfill the
demand of cricket that changed completely at the advent of T20 cricket.
They faced a hiccup, losing two openers cheaply but still kept belief in
their ability to chase down the target. And to their delight, they found hero
in Najmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy who shared 131-run for the fourth
wicket to set the platform of the victory.
That the two youngsters brought the victory is particularly delighting to
see, considering Bangladesh are believed to be over relied on their senior
cricketers.
Though, senior players’ experience came handy. Shakib Al Hasan made 31 and
repaired the initial damage with 61-run with Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim who
hammered 28 ball-36 not out towards the end to help Bangladesh race to the
victory.
But the most satisfying factor was to see Shanto to come of age. Touting as
one of the best young players, Shanto failed to live up to the expectation on
most of the occasion but on a day when it mattered most, he delivered to give
Bangladesh an exciting victory.
“I was not thinking about getting hundred. I just watched the ball and play
and I know if I can bat properly I can get hundred. I am very happy because
it was my first one-day hundred and the way I wanted to bat I batted. But I
felt if I could finish the game it would have been made me more happy,”
Shanto said after the match.
“The selectors and the coaching staff that includes the previous ones like
Russell (Domingo) gave me opportunity to play lot of matches and it helped. I
am thankful to them that they had that trust on me but still long way to go
because I feel I just played well in couple of innings and if I can continue(
in this manner) it is good for me and my team,” he said.
Shanto who brought up his maiden ODI ton in his 23 ODIs himself gave the
credit to Towhid Hridoy who made his debut in the last home series against
this opponent.
“The way Hridoy batted after coming to the wicket and the intent that he
showed, it helped my batting and he never looked nervous. The partnership
that we made and we wanted to play as per the requirement, and the important
thing is that we are not thinking about the outcome and just try to play our
natural game,” he added.
Bangladesh now will be looking to make it 2-0 to keep the winning spree
against Ireland, said Shanto.
Ireland in fact have never beaten Bangladesh in ODIs since 2010. Of the 15
ODI matches between the two sides, Bangladesh won 10 and lost just two while
three matches were washed out.
Ireland won the maiden encounter between the two sides in 2007 ODI World Cup
in Bridgetown, West Indies but last time they beat Bangladesh in ODI cricket
in 2010 at Belfast.
Line Ups:
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain, Towhid
Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul
Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud and
Mrittunjoy Chowdhury
Ireland: Andy Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany,
George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Andy
McBrine, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker and Craig Young.
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha