Head coach of Bangladesh, Phil Simmons believes that his team is capable of hosting a minimum of 300 in the upcoming Championship Trophy game against New Zealand. However, he emphasizes the importance of enhancing the performances of the players in the first 10 overs with both bat and ball. This article highlights the challenges that the top order faces and how the head coach points out the areas of improvement for the Bangladesh top order performance.
Bangladesh’s Top Order Struggles in Recent Matches
For Bangladesh to win against New Zealand, the head coach of the team, Phil Simmons feels that the top order of the team needs to stand up. During their first match, Bangladesh was soundly defeated by India and the next is going to be a “do or die” game for them.
The head coach also mentioned how the team gave away the game to India with an unsatisfactory performance with bat and ball.
In an interview before the New Zealand game, Simmons said, “We lost in batting in overs one to ten, and the same in bowling. We have to make sure we win in those areas,”
“We need to assess and put together our batting better in the first ten overs. The middle and lower order have done really well so it is up to our top-order batsmen to put things together in the first ten or 15 overs, especially.”
Bangladesh slipped in the line over to 35 for 5 in Dubai, where Soumya Sarkar fell in during the first over of Mohammed Shami before Najmul Hossain Shanto passed a catch to Virat Kohli in the second over. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Tanzid Hasan did not last either but Mushfiqur Rahim turned himself a golden duck.
Coach Simmons’ Strategy for the Upcoming Match
Head coach, Phil Simmons added that openers need to read the conditions faster and Bangladesh needs to take a leaf from all those tournament big totals, specifically the Australian chase of 352 against England. It was played at Lahore, while Bangladesh is now hosting New Zealand at Rawalpindi, the ground for Its first tournament game.
Simmons said “This is a big-scoring ground. We saw the score in Lahore yesterday. We are looking at 300-plus here,”
“In the last five matches, we made 300 a couple of times. So we have the ability to do it. We didn’t start well in the last game, but still, we got to 200 [231]. If we start well, we will get there [300].”
Simmons believes that improving the top orders performance will set the tone for the rest of the team.
With the Bangladesh squad ready to play against New Zealand, cricket enthusiasts and cricket betting sites online are eagerly observing the performance of the top order which could be a game-changer in the match.
