Tamim pleased with seamers' performance

Bangladesh plan to take the batting Powerplay early if Tamim Iqbal gets going © Grameenphone Enlarge

Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh vice-captain, has said that his side was satisfied with their nine-wicket win against Canada in their first World Cup warm-up game. "Winning is a habit and our main target was to win the game first," Tamim told the Daily Star. "We did well in the 2007 World Cup because we went into the tournament after winning some games. So, it's nice that we began with a win."

Bangladesh inserted Canada and skittled them out for 112, with five of the seven bowlers used, getting among the wickets. While Bangladesh's strongest suit - their spinners - turned in a strong show, their seamers also impressed, with Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain sharing four wickets. "Our planning was to give everybody a chance in the practice match. It was nice to see that the pacers executed the plans, especially Shafiul impressed everybody. The way he dismissed John Davison [with a slower delivery] was really fantastic. But still it can be much better."

Ashish Bagai, the Canada captain, rued his side's poor batting. "I think it was not the good bowling by the Bangladesh pace bowlers, but our poor shot selection that caused the early damage," he said. "And definitely Bangladesh's main strength is their spin bowlers. The score was not good enough. The wicket was little bit low, but still we could have managed 220-225 runs."

Tamim led the small chase in style, smashing ten boundaries in his 69 from 50 deliveries before falling seven runs away from victory. He is crucial at the top of the order for Bangladesh, so crucial that he said they plan to take the batting Powerplay early if he gets going. But he was disappointed by his dismissal. "I always go for big shots which was not good," he said. "It was rubbish, the way I was dismissed. Actually there was some pain in my hips."

The decision to bowl did not give Bangladesh a chance to try out their bowlers under lights, and Tamim's charge ensured the other batsmen missed out on some practice, but he maintained that the main focus was on winning. "Spin bowling is our main strength, and the dew factor could be an issue if we bowl in the second session. We are happy that everything has happened according to our plan, but still we can improve a lot of things before the big challenge on February 19 [the tournament's opening game, against India]."