Bashar looks to end 2006 with a win

Bangladesh go into the second and final one-day match against Scotland on Sunday in a bid to stretching their winning tally to 18 games, eight in a row.

The match commences at 9am at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and the good news for the viewers was that state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) will telecast the match live from the big bowl.

Bangladesh won the first match by six wickets at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium on Friday to take 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

"I think we are going to finish a very significant year tomorrow (Sunday) because there were many achievements to our credit this year. I repeatedly told my boys not to take any team or match lightly and we will not show any mercy to our opponents in the second game as well," said delighted Tiger's skipper after training at the venue on Saturday.

Bashar was not ready to underestimate the Scots but believes that the visitors have some good players to bounce back from their first match disappointment.

"I think to some extent they are a better side than the Zimbabweans because they have some players with county experiences. That's why there is no scope to take them lightly," he added.

The 33-year old Bangladesh skipper informed that they were yet to decide about the playing eleven as they want to see the fitness test of veteran left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique before the match.

There is likely to be one change in the team from the last match and team think-tank are discussing whether they will give hard-hitting batsman Nadif Chowdhury a chance to make his international debut.

There was a valid reason for the home team captain to bring this year's performance to the spotlight as they so far won seventeen matches in 27 games, eleven at home besides six away successes, and it could be worth mentioning that before this, Bangladesh won ten out of 115 games.

"Many might think that we played too many matches against the weaker opponents but winning is always important. We at least set our standard against those opponents which was very important," Bashar defended when asked about whether their engagement with the lowly opponents enabled them to improve their winning graph.

He showered praise on his deputy Shahriar Nafees and paceman Mashrafee Bin Mortuza, both achieving milestones during the first match against Scotland, to set a standard in the team.

"I think Nafees is a poster of Bangladesh cricket in the international arena. It was not a joke to score one thousand runs in a calendar year with three hundreds and the way he batted simply was exemplary to the other guys. On the other hand Mashrafee delighted the country after becoming the highest wicket-taker of the world in this year," he observed.

"I was really delighted when match referee Mike Procter expressed his joy over Bangladesh's recent success after the first match and he said that he will not be surprised if we pull off anything special in next year's World Cup. I think it was a great compliment from the South African legend," informed Bashar.

He said that his boys were hungry to do something even against a team like Scotland that impressed him most in recent time.

"There are very healthy competitions among the players in the team. I am really impressed on the new guys' attitude who are really hungry for success. One thing is established that performance is key to keep the place intact in the side," said the most successful Bangladesh captain.