Bangladesh batter Saif Hasan, who scored an important half-century for Bangladesh in the triumph against Sri Lanka, is upbeat about the Asian Tigers making the final of the subcontinental cup.

Sterling half-centuries from Saif Hassan (61) and Towhid Hridoy (58) meant Bangladesh were able to work over Sri Lanka to begin the Super Fours on a bright note. Bangladesh will take on India and Pakistan respectively on September 24 and 25, and would like to keep up the good work against their Asian neighbours.

“Yes, definitely we are confident of reaching the final,” said Saif, who crafted 61 runs from 45 balls at the top of the order to lay the platform for the confidence-boosting win.

“Before coming here, everyone believed that we would play the final,” he said.

“We are one step ahead, and still there are two more matches for us, and our next focus is only on the next match,” he said.

“Definitely, one should dream and one should dream big, but we should proceed step by step. Our next focus will be fully on the match against India,  and the match after that will be seen later,” he said.

Saif added that once Tanzid Tamim departed, he hehem and Litton Kumar Das decided to throw some counterpu,nches, and he was thankful to the senior pro for guiding him at a crucial juncture.
Das, the captain, was eventually caught behind for 23 off 16 balls,.Saif, along with Hridoy, steadied the ship through a 54-run stand that kept Bangladesh ahead of the required run rate even as Sri Lanka continued to fare decently with the ball, thanks to the likes of Nuwan Thushara, Dushmantha Chameera, and Wanindu Hasaranga.

“After the wicket fell, we planned to counter-attack. There wasn’t a very specific plan, but we held a team meeting.

Communication was good, and Litton could anticipate what the next ball would be, and that’s what he was telling me, and Alhamdulillah, it worked,” said Saif.

“During the PowerPlay, since there are field restrictions, no one should obviously cash in, and obviously, we have team meetings before the match, and there is a specific plan against every bowler. Everyone has their own individual plan, and we just try to deliver according to our plan,” he said.

On the bowling front, Saif was effusive in his praise of Mustafizur Rahm, who returned 3 for 20 in his spell.

“Mustafizur bhai’s bowling is always good. He has been in very good shape for the last few months. Today, he gave away a few runs and took wickets at vital moments. He is a world-class Bowler, so these situations are easy for him.

“You can see that whenever he bowls, the team is usually in a crisis and he always comes in to bowl during moments of danger, and he delivers most of the time,” he said. “So, I think he is a match player who is very impactful in the team’s crises.