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Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Group B, Trinidad
'There is more self-belief' - Whatmore
Cricinfo staff
March 21, 2007
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Whatmore: Tamim Iqbal has got the ability to be an asset to any team
© AFP
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Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore has said that confidence was the key to their emphatic victory against India at Trinidad on March 17. Bangladesh have two more matches - against Sri Lanka and Bermuda - and are strong contenders from Group B to qualify for the Super Eight stage.
Bangladesh dismissed India for 191 and then chased down the target with five wickets in hand. Whatmore said that the difference with this side was self-belief. "There is more self-belief," Whatmore told AFP. "The Bangladesh side of two or three years ago might not to be able to overhaul the target of 192 against India.
"A lot of these boys are willing to work a lot harder out in the middle in difficult periods. That's the main difference. Our bowling attack has come along well. The fielding has improved and I was very pleased with what I saw [against India]. The catching is good. Our ground fielding is an area we would like to improve even further."
Bangladesh made it clear that they were not going to be pushovers by beating New Zealand and Scotland in their warm-up matches before stunning India.
"We wanted to have very good preparations first," said Whatmore. "We got to the West Indies before any other team. A particularly good game against New Zealand gave us confidence and we had another victory against Scotland. These games have given us confidence. In the bigger match, what we are trying to do is to replicate good things we did in previous matches."
Bangladesh's chase against India was led by three teenagers - Tamim Iqbal, Saqibul Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim - who scored half-centuries. Tamim had scored 46 off 48 balls in the warm-up game against New Zealand and pummelled India during his 51.
"Tamim probably learnt his lessons from the match with New Zealand. He's got a bit to learn still, but he has got the ability to be an asset to any team. Hasan's learning and is learning pretty fast. So is Rahim. It was a very significant victory [against India]. It gives us a reasonable chance to go on and realise our first objective, which is to get to the Super Eight stage."
© Cricinfo
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