Hopefully it was a good wake-up call, says Mashrafe
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza says that the humbling defeat against Sri Lanka in Tigers' last round robin fixture is a good wake up call ahead of the final on Saturday.
The Bangladesh skipper was in a somber mood as he spoke to the press following the 10-wickets defeat to Sri Lanka in Tigers' last match of the round robin fixtures.
Bangladesh's impressive win in the first three matches of the tri-nation series, where they notched up impressive wins against both Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, gave the Tigers an air of invincibility. That makes the defeat all the more sour as Bangladesh were all out for just 82, unable to even cross 100-run mark. Sri Lanka finished the match in 11.5 overs with 37.1 overs and 10 wickets to spare.
To go into the final and play Sri Lanka again will be a big challenge for the Tigers, especially as the middle-order once again failed to contribute for the second successive game.
Mashrafe said that the Tigers will remain positive and apply themselves in the same way which brought them success.
"We have to think in the same vein as we did when we won our three matches and play positively. Maybe it was a good wake-up call before the final. Maybe we need to add more steel to our nerves."
Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan had been involved in three impressive partnerships in this tournament but after the Tigers' lost both of these dependable run makers early on, the Tigers failed to ignite and come up with solutions. Mashrafe reiterated that he did not think that the wicket was that hard to bat on and suggested that there was a lack of application from the batsmen.
"We know that Sri Lanka can defeat us but we did not expect to lose in this manner," Mashrafe said.
"After out last three matches that we can not lose in this manner. It is hard to comment on this match after our last three performances.
Tigers will need to believe that the wake up call was good enough to fire them up ahead of the all-important final on Saturday agianst Sri Lanka.