ICC World Cup 2019 | I’m very proud of the way Bangladesh has played, exclaims Steve Rhodes
Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes has stated that he is mighty pleased with the manner in which Bangladesh has approached the game and has put in some memorable performances against the world’s best teams. He went on to state that they will be looking forward to ending the tournament on a good note.
Though this might not be Bangladesh’s best ever finish in a World Cup having reached the quarterfinals in the last edition, it has been no less impressive and full of magical moments. Be it the incredible form of Shakib Al Hasan or the determination to not give up until the last wicket, the world got to witness a team with the potential to make it big. Having, more often than not, entered such tournaments as minnows, the Tigers showed the hunger this time around to go all the way and have left a huge impact on the global stage.
The story against India in their last match was no different. After a 180 run opening stand by India, it looked like they were set for a total of at least 350. However, the bowlers refused to give up and rallied back to restrict them to just 314. Even when batting, the players kept hitting the ball with intent and never were they completely outplayed by the world’s number one ODI side.
“You know, it could well have been 370, 380, even 400 at one stage. So we were delighted that we showed a lot of spirit and a lot of fight to come back. It was pleasing to see some fight. I think it’s a reflection of the team. We’ve only picked up three victories,” Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes said, reported Scroll.in.
The team registered notable victories against South Africa and West Indies, while also winning against continental rivals Afghanistan. Rarely did it happen that they were trampled over and managed to give a close fight to the higher ranked teams. The spirit of the team has certainly been celebrated around the globe and has seen them become fan favourites.
“I’m very proud of the way we’ve played against a lot of the big teams, and I think that maybe we’ll be the people’s team for the amount of fight that we’ve shown,” Rhodes added.
The loss to India, however, meant Bangladesh has been eliminated from the top four race. They will end their campaign against Pakistan at Lord’s on Friday. While they have nothing but pride to play for, Pakistan will be fighting for a semi’s birth. They have been on a winning streak of late with three consecutive wins but Bangladesh will be no cakewalk for them. The last time the two teams faced, Bangladesh had won by 38 runs in the Asia Cup last year.
“I’m really looking forward to that game. I think we beat them in the Asia Cup, and they’ll want to change that. We showed in some of the games we played this year that we’re going to be a difficult side for Pakistan to beat. We know we’ll have to play well again because they’ve run into a little bit of form in the back end of the tournament. But we’re confident,” Rhodes concluded.