Tigers must come out with all guns blazing
Mushfiq wants Tamim, Shakib blast in their 50th Test
Sports Reporter
Even though there is no lack of confidence on their ability to beat any top oppositions in any condition, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim believed that they need to start afresh when they take on Australia in the first of two-match Test series at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today.
Bangladesh evolved to a stronger outfit in the longer version format from a nation to occasional flashes of brilliance that has been evidenced in their performance of late and at home condition and on their preferred wicket they are unstoppable so much so that the talk of 2-0 whitewash on Australia has already gained the momentum.
But Rahim said they need to apply themselves well to materialise the dream of 2-0 whitewash and hence they need to win the first innings whether it is in batting or bowling.
Certainly we are here to win the game. You know how consistent we have been in the last two years in Test cricket and in our home condition, Mushfiqur said. I think from that confidence everyone is saying that it is possible to win the series. We have the confidence, resources and enough players who can turn the match on their head. If you have six or seven performers in your team, you will go for positive result.
We have to start from the beginning. We have played our last game against Sri Lanka and in home condition we are playing after one year since our Test against England. Certainly it is not going to be that easy. We have to come out with all guns blazing in every department. We have to stick our basics. We are not playing against any alien. We are playing against Australia who are much professional and strong outfit. We have played against good teams earlier. But it could be exceptional since we are playing against them for the first time and another thing is we are playing after a long time.
We last played in the Champions Trophy. But its a different format. Still we need to utilise the opportunity. We didnt have the opportunity to play such a top team always. So we want to utilise the opportunity that we got now so that we can create the opportunity to play against top teams more often.
First innings is important whether it is in batting or bowling. If we want to dominate the Test, we need to make sure that we win the first innings at any cost.
Bangladesh have played four Test matches against Australia so far and lost all of them duly. This is the first time that they genuinely are in chance to win the Test against them.
As spinning track is on the cards, Bangladesh have spinners who could challenge Australias defensive techniques and patience, and one of those is also the worlds best Test allrounder:
Shakib Al Hasan. They have enough experience and talent in their batting order, through Shakib, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, to pose problems for Australias bowlers.
Shakib and Tamim however have been crucial for Bangladesh for long in bowling and batting and they have to take the onus against Australia also.
Both of them will play their 50th Test when the first Test commences and Mushfiqur expected that the team will be able to tribute their contribution with good result.
The next Test will be the 50th Test for two top class players of Bangladesh. Already we have discussion amongst ourselves regarding this. We will try to play the Test for two of them to give them a tribute. They offered Bangladesh much. Hopefully they will give many more things ahead. Beside them we can celebrate the occasion with good result.
Mushfiqur however predicted that Nathan Lyon will pose a great threat for them. He stressed upon the requirements of neutralizing him well to win the Test.
In sub-continents condition, spinners play a vital role in games. In that sense, Nathan Lyon will be vital. Weve left-handed batsmen in top-order, in that case, he might be a big threat for us. Last time when he played in this condition he really did well. Indian batsmen play spin well in where he does well, Mushfiqur thought.
