Donald is looking forward to see the ‘final’ on the wicket of the first match
The wicket where Zimbabwe stormed to 200 in the first match will be the last T20 to decide the series. Despite losing that match, the way Bangladesh turned around in the second match made Allan Donald optimistic. The bowling coach of Bangladesh is waiting for a crowded fight in the fighting match of the series.
The last match of the series will start at 5 pm Bangladesh time on Tuesday at the Sports Club ground in Harare.
Chasing two hundred runs in the first match, Bangladesh lost by 17 runs. In the next match, they stopped Zimbabwe for 135 runs and won by 7 wickets.
Donald paints a picture of hope in the way the team has turned around after a miserable first-match bowling performance. Addressing the media in Harare on Monday, the South African pace bowling legend said he is looking forward to another great fight.
“As a person and personally I have never held anyone accountable for performance. We are as good as we can play on that day. But to be able to turn around in international cricket is real and we did that yesterday. Tomorrow is the final, we have to jump again.”
“As I said, we have a final tomorrow. The first match will be played again on the pitch. I am looking forward to this match. Hopefully it will be a great match.”
Bangladesh is not getting Nurul Hasan Sohan in this important match. The captain of this series and the keeper-batsman who batted brilliantly in the first match got injured in the team’s winning match and was ruled out for three weeks. The team will miss him in front of and behind the wicket, said Donald.
“Met (Sohan) at breakfast today. Fingers were splinted. I thought it was a warning. He said that it was not torn. Feel bad for him. Good wicketkeeping, good hitting, good captaincy in last two matches.”
“He approached the captaincy as if he had done it 20-30 times before. We will miss him. Hope to recover in three weeks, be ready for the Asia Cup.”
But behind the despair there is hope. According to Donald, someone else should take advantage of Sohan’s absence.
“We will miss his ability to play shots. He showed in the first match that he can almost single-handedly take the match out. But tomorrow (for others) is another chance. We have Liton Das, he is a fantastic wicketkeeper. And hopefully someone else will step up to finish the match.”
