Mortaza ready to take Bangladesh's good form into Windies ODIs
Bangladesh go into their three-match ODI series against the Windies on the back of a 2-0 Test series win and with a fantastic win percentage in ODIs over the last few months. With the ICC Cricket World Cup just five months away this is a great opportunity for them to continue their good form in the one-day format.
Since being defeated 3-0 in the their away ODI series in South Africa they have beaten the Windies in the Caribbean, made it to the final of the Asia cup and also made it to the final of the tri series in Bangladesh against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka and also defeated Zimbabwe 3-0 in a stand-alone series. Captain, Mashrafe Mortaza is very pleased with his team’s recent efforts in the format.
"This year, our winning percentage is very good apart from the two losses in the final," Mortaza said. "Obviously, if we could have won a final that would have been better, especially the Asia Cup. I think it would be great if we can end the year on a winning note. There will be [a] lot of challenges from the beginning of next year, so doing well at the end of the year will be good for us. The format is different, so it is difficult to say what will happen. We have played well in this format, and hopefully if we can carry that [forward] it will be good for us."
Even after Bangladesh won the two match Test series 2-0, Mortaza is not taking anything for granted. He feels that the Windies have some game-changers that can make a real difference in white ball cricket.
"Still the ODIs haven't started so there is no point thinking about a clean-sweep. But the first match is important so let's see what happens. In this format, one or two players can change the game and they do have a few of them with that ability to destroy an opponent. We must keep that in our mind. So, there is no way you can say what will happen in the three matches. But as the format gets shorter, they become more dangerous. So, it is better to keep the opening game in focus. There is no point thinking apart from the opening match.”
Bangladesh will be boosted by the return of explosive opener, Tamim Iqbal and experienced all-rounder, Shakib al Hasan. Tamim has been recovering from niggling injuries that have kept him out of the side and Shakib has had a finger injury that he has been affecting him since the Asia Cup. Tamim scored an excellent hundred in the warmup match for the BCB XI against the Windies to help his side to victory so he will be hoping he can return with a bang in this series.
"You can expect that because Tamim scored a century in the practice [match], he will play extraordinarily tomorrow but that might not be the case,” Mortaza said. “He can even play better or can play badly. What I want to say is that it takes time to play your best cricket after coming from an injury. He was probably out for two and a half months. It is a relief for us as both are available.”
The series gets underway with the first match on 9 December at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.