According to Tamim, a more calculated batting performance at the start of the innings – something that has badly eluded Bangladesh thus far in the series - can lay the foundations for the team’s first win against New Zealand in New Zealand.
“The wicket was very good in the first match, but we failed to have a great start. We knew they have two bowlers who usually do very well in the first ten overs. The bad part was we lost four wickets in the first ten overs,” Tamim said on Monday.
In the first match in Christchurch, Bangladesh lost four wickets in the first 10 overs scoring just 50 runs. Tamim was the first batsman to depart early in the second over. Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and Soumya Sarkar also followed him back to the pavilion in quick succession.
“The wicket was fine in the second match as well. But due to the rain and the cloudy weather they got some advantage. However, the wicket was really nice to bat on. If you look at their innings or at ours after 15-20 overs, the wicket was good. We did the same mistake in the second match losing too many wickets at the start of our innings,” the southpaw further said.
In the second match Bangladesh lost both their openers in the first 7 overs. Liton was the first batsman to get dismissed and Tamim followed him. Tamim said they are looking to do something different in the last game.
“Now, if we don’t lose many wickets during the first ten overs in the third ODI, we may put pressure on them in the middle overs. I believe our batsmen are enough capable of playing great cricket. We have made the mistakes in the first two matches, and that is why we lost,” Tamim said.
According to Bangladesh’s most prolific ODI run-getter (as well as Tests and T20I) , since the team has shown it can beat New Zealand in England and Ireland, where conditions tend to be similar to New Zealand, they should be able to do it in New Zealand as well.
The Tigers opener was referring to two famous wins for Bangladesh over the Kiwis in 2017, firstly in a tri-series played in Dublin, Ireland followed by a thrilling win in the Champions Trophy played in England that saw Bangladesh qualify for the semi-finals.
As regards the goal of the Tigers in the third match, Tamim said: “Our main focus will be not to handover the match in the first ten overs. We don’t want to replicate the same mistakes here. We have toured New Zealand 4-5 times but we have not won a match yet. But we have beaten them in England and Ireland, so I don’t see any reason behind our inability in these conditions.”
The final match of the series will take place in Dunedin at 4am (Bangladesh time) on February 20. Right after the three-match ODI series, Bangladesh will lock horn with the hosts in a 3-match Test series from February 28.