Mahmud demands improvement from middle-order batsmen

Bangladesh is taking nothing for granted in the tri-nation series and will not like to lose their tempo as they take on Sri Lanka in their final league game, team's technical director Khaled Mahmud said on Wednesday (January 24).

Bangladesh have already booked their berth in the final with three successive bonus-point wins and have the opportunity to test their bench and experiment against Sri Lanka. However, Mahmud refrained from looking at it that way and said they still have a long way to go. "We are yet to become champions [at the] end of the day. We still have to play in the final which is most important for us. There is no way to be relaxed." Mahmud told reporters at the team hotel as the hosts opted to rest on the eve of the game.

"We didn't get any break. We played yesterday and we also play tomorrow. And the final will be on 27th. So the team really needed a break today. Being out of the cricket field [for a day] does not mean we are relaxed," he added."We don't want to lose any matches and it is the most important thing. Tomorrow's game is as important as the final for us. This is a different ODI match and every match is important for us. And obviously the final is final so it is important also," he added.

Mahmud stated that he was happy with the performance of his bowlers. "I think it's a great thing. Earlier, we used to hear that Bangladesh could not defend low scores but we managed to defend 216 quite impressively," Mahmud noted. "When I see that it feels really good. The way bowlers bowled, bowling in the right areas was really impressive. Earlier we were unable to get wickets with the new ball. But we are bowling well with the new ball in this tournament."

Mahmud though added that he is not satisfied with the performance of their middle-order batsmen. The Bangladesh middle-order had been largely untested until last match where they faltered miserably, slipping to 170 for 8 from 147 for 2.

"I am still not satisfied. We know that if we want to call us giants then we need more good qualities. We also discussed about that. In future, we want to perform better," said Mahmud. "Yesterday there was an opportunity for the middle-order to prove themselves which they couldn't take. Whenever the top order fails, the rest of the batsmen carry on - that's a common thing for the big sides.

"Yet, we have faith on our players as they have great potential. The middle-order didn't click yesterday but it might happen tomorrow. If you want to be a big side you have to make that happen. If we can turn around from any stage then we can call ourselves [one among the] big sides," he concluded.