ICC World Cup 2019 | Bangladesh can still make it to semi-finals, you never know, says Mashrafe Mortaza
Mashrafe Mortaza is optimistic of Bangladesh securing a semi final spot despite their loss against Australia, which has left them with a mountain to climb in the matches to come. He went on to admit the difficulty of the task and revealed how he had thought the tournament would pan out.
Gone are the days when Bangladesh were considered as minnows and a solitary win against a top five opponent was considered a great cricketing achievement for the country. Over the years, they have emerged as a strong team who have the potential to beat any team in the world on their day.
However, having come into the World Cup as the dark horses, they have put in some great performances but failed to secure the right results. This means that they sit in fifth place with just five points from six games, having played a game extra than most teams below it and two more than India who sit in the spot above it with seven points. They could drop to as low as the eighth position by the next matchday. However, the skipper has refused to throw in the towel just yet.
“I think still you never know. I think we have still three matches left. We have to play hard and then let’s see,” Mortaza was quoted saying, reported the Times of India.
Bangladesh are yet to play India, Afghanistan and Pakistan and will need huge wins in all those games to not only secure crucial points but also improve their net run rate to be in with a chance of ending in a top four spot. However, the manner in which India, New Zealand, England and Australia have started the tournament, it seems unlikely that any of those four will give up a semi final berth.
“It’s going to be difficult for sure, even if we win all those three matches. I think at this stage a few matches would have been lost by the top four and then the tournament would have gone in a different way,” Mortaza said of the situation, admitting their work was cut out.
It was the same old story for them against Australia where they showed hints of promise but made mistakes at crucial junctures that cost them. They had to pay for a dropped catch of Warner when he was on 10 , for the tournament’s top scorer went on to make a scintillating 166. The Tigers did put on a dogged fight in the second innings and reached 333/8 on the back of Mushfiqur Rahim’s unbeaten century, but still felt 48 runs short of Australia’s total.
“We know we have to pick up wickets. If not then it’s going to be very difficult which is exactly what happened. David Warner is batting so well,” Mortaza signed off.
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