To prevent another white-ball series whitewash against New Zealand, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said he would want to see more team effort rather than one or two exceptional performances.
After losing the first two games of the three-match one-day series, Bangladesh has to win tomorrow to prevent a whitewash and also to win their first white-ball encounter on New Zealand soil.
Shanto praised a few individual efforts in the first two matches, saying they might have turned into triumphs if more of them had come from the others as well.
“We must play as a unit. There are a few solo performances. But we need a little more from the team, more collaboration. I remain confident in our capacity to defeat the enemy. Every game is a chance for me.”I believe we can rewrite history,” Shanto stated before of the last ODI in Napier tomorrow.
Bangladesh was defeated by 44 runs in the rain-affected first match in Dunedin, and then by seven wickets in the second match in Nelson. Shanto believed pacer Shoriful Islam bowled well in his opening periods in both matches, while leg-spinner Rishad bowled well on his debut. Shanto also applauded Soumya Sarkar for his big 169 in the second match, but believed the rest of the squad needed to contribute as well for the team to win.
“In the second match, Soumya scored a century, Rishad made his debut and bowled a great spell, and Shoriful’s new-ball spell was good – so there were some positives.” “I believe we can win if we improve a little more,” Shanto remarked.
The Bangladesh opener said that adapting to these circumstances is difficult for both bowlers and hitters, but that everyone should take a page from Shoriful or Soumya’s books to succeed in these situations.