Afghanistan were one step ahead of Bangladesh: Hamid

Afghanistan bowling coach Hamid Hasan believes his side was one step ahead of Bangladesh in terms of playing positive brand of cricket, a thing that was instrumental in their first ever series victory over the Tigers in ODI format.

“We played little bit positive cricket, one step ahead of Bangladesh maybe. And that’s why maybe Bangladesh couldn’t try to catch our bowlers or batters early. That was maybe the key point, we think we were one step ahead of Bangladesh and the result was, you can see,” Hamid said in Chattogram today.

“Beating Bangladesh in Bangladesh, I know it’s not easy, but behind that we worked really hard, practicing in training for five to six hours. And most important thing, believing in the team, in ourselves. That’s the most important thing for anyone. If you believe in yourself, you can beat anyone.”

The visitors won the rain-hit first ODI by 17 runs and then confirmed the series with a crushing 142-run win in the second match. After winning the series, they are now eying to inflict a whitewash on Bangladesh.

“Every team wants to continue their winning momentum. The way we started. Beating Bangladesh in Bangladesh is not easy. Alhamdulillah, boys did really well in all three departments. Altogether, it was a team effort that’s why we got a very good result. Hopefully, we win again tomorrow,” he remarked.

Afghanistan’s dream of doing something extraordinary in World Cup also got further boost due to the victory in Bangladesh, Hamid said.

“This time we think bigger, hoping for a very good result the way the team is performing. The world is aware of Afghanistan. They are fighting their best, they are giving their best. We get more hope from these players. We have very got batters. Hope this world cup will be good for Afghanistan. Maybe we can win a few matches with good result.”

Afghanistan spinners shined in with scintillating performance once again but Hamid was elated to see the progress of the fast bowlers, specially Fazalhaq Farooqi who gave the side an early edge in both matches. Farooqi overall claimed six wickets in those two matches to help Afghanistan clinch the series with a match to spare.

“Every coach and every team should be proud of the way he bowled (Farooqi) in the two games. He struggled against Sri Lanka because he hasn’t played much ODI cricket. But we had a wonderful training camp at Abu Dhabi and he was very well prepared. All the players, including Fazal. I’m happy that he’s back and he’s getting his proper rhythm. Hopefully in the Asia Cup and we’re targeting World Cup, he’ll be our man and the key bowler.”