Bashar

Dhaka: Habibul Bashar enjoys star status here but his low string of scores has put him under pressure. The Bangladesh captain has totalled a mere 105 in his last ten innings and knows the criticism will increase manifold if they lose the series versus India on Saturday.

He, though, is staying positive. “There is no room for any negative thoughts. We believe we had a decent game on Thursday. The difference was made in the last ten overs. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was too good and we failed to stop him. That tilted the scales in their favour.

“The pressure will always be there. The Indians may enjoy the advantage of winning the first game but we know we have to win tomorrow to stay alive. A home series involves a lot of expectations. We know there are people in the stands who brave the heat the whole day to see us perform. We need to do something to keep them happy,” Bashar told The Telegraph.

“It was important that we won the opener. Despite the loss, the fact that we managed to push India hard proved that we played well.”

Will there be any special plans for Saturday? “Our strategy will be simple. No big difference from what you have been noticing recently. Hopefully things will fall into place. The players need to perform at the right time and place,” he explained.

“Twenty-four hours have passed since the last game. The conditions were tough for both sides. We are not dwelling on the past and looking to play consistently.”

Bashar admitted the wicket had taken them by surprise. “To be fair, we expected the wicket to play low and slow. That was what we had experienced during our practice match here. We expected it to turn a lot more. I thought it became easier to bat as the match wore on.”

The openers’ performance is what has left him satisfied but he feels there is still room for improvement. “Javed Omar can perform better. He can play a vital cog in the wheel when it comes to flying starts.

“Tamim Iqbal made the difference in the World Cup match. But Thursday the circumstances were different. Both the efforts were good.”