Tigers’ ‘plan’ against Rashid, Mujeeb pans out

Just ahead of the series against Afghanistan, there were a lot of talks over the threat that the Afghanistan spinners pose and their impact in the shortest format of the game as teams all around the world face difficulty to negotiate the class of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. 

Although Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan said the team was not sweating over any individuals, the team management did have a specific plan in place to negotiate star leggie Rashid and mystery spinner Mujeeb for the first T20I, which the Tigers won by two wickets in Sylhet on Friday.

The ploy of not giving away wickets to Rashid and Mujeeb and target Afghanistan's fourth and fifth bowling options in chase of the 155-run target kept Bangladesh one step ahead in the game.  

Both Mujeeb and Rashid went on to pick just a wicket each, conceding 22 and 24 runs, respectively, as the hosts targeted someone like Azmatullah Omarzai, who gave way 34 runs from his three overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi scalped a wicket and went for 36 from his four overs. 

Despite the late drama in the final over, with Karim Janat picking up a hattrick, the hosts eventually held their nerves and prevailed.  

"We had a plan since they have the world's best spin attack and it's difficult to score runs against them. But still we tried to take calculated risks and execute our plan properly. I think every game in international cricket is challenging as every opponent have different strength. But we were able to execute our plan [on Friday]," Towhid Hridoy, player of the match for his unbeaten 47, told the media yesterday.  

Hridoy struck three fours and two maximums on way to his highest T20I score and stitched a crucial 73-run fifth-wicket stand with Shamim Hossain, who scored 33 off 25 balls before becoming the only victim of Rashid in the game.  

According to the 22-year-old Hridoy, the Tigers are heading in the right direction.  

"Everyone in the team support and backs each other as we know what our chances are. To be honest, we were very positive regardless of the opposition. We always try to focus on our strengths. We have a great bonding as a team which helps us. Coach gives us a plan and we try to execute that," he said.