Despite a 137-run defeat at the hands of England in its second ICC ODI World Cup 2023 fixture, vice-captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was in good spirits ahead of Bangladesh’s game against New Zealand in Chennai on Friday.
Shanto underscored the positive note with which the team had started the tournament, winning its first game against Afghanistan, during his interaction with the media ahead of the game.
“I think we started very well in this tournament. Against England, we did not play well, to be very honest. But we are not worried too much about that match,” he said. “We are looking forward to this match and hoping we can play some good cricket here.”
Bangladesh will be slightly more optimistic about the conditions at the M. A. Chidambaram stadium than those at Dharamsala, with the slow, turning track at Chepauk similar to the ones at home.
“I think we saw in the India-Australia match that there was some spin. If it is like that, it helps our spinners but we are not thinking about the wicket. We need to execute our plans and be clear about what we need to do,” Shanto said.
Speaking about the possible scores to expect from the game, Shanto said, “If we look at all the matches in India, the wicket looks very good. I think if the wicket is fresh we should look at something like 320.”
Shanto swayed away from questions regarding the alleged tussle between the current and previous captains Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, remarking that the pre-tournament friction was very much behind the team and that the focus remained on the tournament at hand.
Bangladesh will be hoping to rely on its spin attack to act as a deterrent to New Zealand’s free-scoring batting setup.
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Shakib, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahedi Hasan have combined for 11 wickets across the first two games and will look to continue in the same vein against the Black Caps.
Shakib brought himself into the attack relatively early in the game against England with Shanto saying that it was a deliberate ploy to counter the English opening batters.
“I think he bowled really well and we needed early wickets because (Dawid) Malan and (Jonny) Bairstow batted really well. So, Shakib took an early chance,” he said. “If Miraz had picked up a few more wickets in the middle then it would have been a different ball game.”
Bangladesh will also look to tap into the experience of its technical consultant and Chennai local boy, Sridharan Sriram.
“We have already had discussions with him about the kind of wicket that we can expect here. We expect to gain more out of him in the coming encounters,” Shanto added.
The vice-captain also remarked that the team was wary of the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, Mitchell Santner. “I think he (Santner) is one of their best bowlers. We have a plan. We need to start well. If our top three or top four batters bat long, it will help our batting order,” he said.
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