Bangladesh's Rahim aiming to upset South Africa in Mirpur Test

Sport360 staff 03:54 30/07/2015
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  • Confident: Mushfiqur.

    Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim believes his side can turn the tables on world number one South Africa in the deciding Test beginning on Thursday in Mirpur.

    Rahim derives his confidence from Bangladesh’s encouraging display in the first Test at Chittagong where they held the upper hand before rain forced a draw.

    “It is an opportunity against the world’s No1 team and to put them under pressure,” Rahim said on Wednesday. “The target is to play well. Our bowling unit has the ability to take their 20 wickets and you know what a good result will be? Bangladesh winning by a 1-0 margin.

    “But we need to be consistent and that is a big challenge,” he cautioned.

    The Tigers have a poor record in Tests, but they are riding high after posting their highest ever total against South Africa of 326 in the first Test. Bangladesh also clinched 2-1 the preceding one-day international series against the Proteas.

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    South Africa captain Hashim Amla denied his team was under pressure to restore pride despite being unbeaten in a Test series on the subcontinent since 2006.

    “Certainly we are here to win. We started well in the last Test match’s first two sessions. It was a kind of a drifter in the two days after that,” Amla said.

    “But this Test match everybody is excited. We managed to get a few training sessions although there was rain around and thankfully the weather looks very good at the moment. Hopefully, if we get a full five days, then it’s about us trying to do as well as we can.”

    Amla said South Africa was unlikely to add another pacer to their lineup. They fielded three fast bowlers – Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander – during the match in Chittagong. 

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