Mithun taking axing from side sportingly

Bangladesh middle-order batsman Mohammad Mithun informed that the Tigers camp is well aware of the Afghanistan threat as the two teams face off each other at Rose Bowl Stadium in Southampton Monday.

The Afghans have lost their first five games of the tournament but produced an impressive performance against India Saturday as the two-time champion were restricted to 224 for the loss of eight wickets in their stipulated 50 overs in the first innings.

The expectation against Afghanistan will be higher for Bangladesh as the Tigers are a superior team, considering form and results over the years. 

But as the expectation to perform well is high, there will be added pressure as well.

“Team are in confident mood as we have played good cricket in the tournament so far. Every opponent are important to us. Whether we are playing against Australia or against Afghanistan we always play for a win,” said Mithun to the media in Southampton Saturday.

@BCBtigers' match against @CricketAus at Trent Bridge in Nottingham turned out to be a high-scoring encounter, which was expected to be honest, considering the nature of the pitch and record in Trent Bridge in recent years.https://t.co/y4rWd1pOtq#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #CRICKET

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) June 21, 2019

“We need to be more careful against them. If we lose against Australia then people might accept the defeat, given that Australia are a higher ranked team, and stronger than us. But if the result against Afghanistan don’t come in our favor then there will be a lot of criticism, which is expected. We need to play better cricket anyway,” he added. 

Mithun played the first three matches in the World Cup, scoring a run a ball 21 against South Africa in the Tigers’ opening game at the Oval.

He then made 26 against New Zealand at the same venue in their second game before being dismissed for a second-ball duck against host England in Cardiff.

Before the tournament began, Mithin was out for nought against India in the practice match in Cardiff. 

Prior to the World Cup, Mithun had scored 17 in the final and 43 in the group stage, both against the West Indies in the tri-nation ODI series, which was won by Bangladesh.

In five innings, @TamimOfficial28 scored 16 off 29 deliveries against @OfficialCSA, 24 off 38 against @BLACKCAPS, 19 off 29 against @englandcricket, 43 off 53 against the @windiescricket and 62 off 74 against @CricketAushttps://t.co/EgmwwnkCcH#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESH

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) June 21, 2019

The fourth match between the Tigers and Sri Lanka was washed out and in the fifth game, he made way for Liton Kumar Das against the Windies in Taunton.  

Liton played an outstanding innings of 94 off just 69 deliveries to help Bangladesh chase down 322 with 51 balls to spare. 

In the last match against the Aussies, Liton made 20.

Mithun praised Liton for his innings against the Windies and said the latter’s form is great for the team. 

Mithun is taking it sportingly and informed that he is working on his game and training hard so that whenever the team need him, he can deliver his best.

@BCBtigers captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza said their batsmen were courageous while chasing a big target of 382 runs against defending champion @CricketAus at Trent Bridge Thursday.https://t.co/65CFCzMioM#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #BANGLADESHCRICKET #AUSTRALIA

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) June 20, 2019

“I am taking it positively and sportingly. Liton performed exceptionally well and scored for the team, and that’s the most important thing. He had a lot of contribution in our win against the West Indies. Even in the last game, he batted well. Now my job is to keep practicing and be ready so whenever the team need me, I can perform for the side,” Mithun said.

Bangladesh had an optional practice session Saturday. 

Majority of the players took rest while five players - skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza, pacer Abu Jayed, middle-order batsmen Sabbir Rahman and Mithun and all-rounder Mosaddek Hossain - went to practice. 

The remaining players took a day off from training.

The match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan will start at 10:30am local time, 3:30pm Bangladesh standard time.