Tait embraces 'challenge' as Bangladesh eye series win

Tait embraces 'challenge' as Bangladesh eye series win

Bangladesh won the second game and will be looking to seal the series.

Bangladesh pace bowling coach Shaun Tait on Monday urged his side to not take Ireland for granted but at the same pointed out the need to not complicate things in the three-match T20I series decider at Chattogram, scheduled on December 2.

The series, which will be Bangladesh's last bilateral T20 assignment before the T20 World Cup in February, is currently tied at 1-1 as the hosts fought back after going down in the opening game. "Ireland has played some good cricket and they've got some good players. They look like they've got a really organized T20 team," said Tait adding that they are happy to be challenged.

"For us, we want the good challenge. That's what we want. Our next series is a World Cup, and it doesn't get any bigger than that for T20 cricket. I think we don't need to complicate our thoughts too much. I think we just need to play good cricket and win the game," he said.

"Every time you win a match, every time you win an international match, you gain some confidence out of that."

Tait also heaped praise on Mustafizur Rahman for remaining calm despite all the noise that comes his way playing international cricket. "Fizz is full of experience and he keeps everything very simple," said Tait.

"He (Mustafizur) knows his strengths. He has played all over the world. He has set high standards and people expect good performances from him. He has always performed well because that is what the best players do. From the IPL to everywhere else, teams want him because he is a quality world class player," he said adding that he also has been in regular communication with Taskin Ahmed, who is currently playing the T10 League in Dubai.

"I saw Taskin playing in the T10," Tait said. "I have a great relationship with him. He is an important player for us, a senior player and a good leader. We speak regularly. He is not just a fast bowler, he is a leader. Everyone follows him. It is a pleasure to work with him. I first saw him many years ago and now he is a much better player, a leader. It is a privilege to have someone like him in the squad," he said.

Meanwhile, Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan said aggression will be the key as they seek a rare series win. "We did really really well over the last two games," said Malan. "We obviously haven't had the amount of cricket that we would have wanted throughout the year, but that's in the past. We are really focusing on where we are at.

"The T20 game has evolved massively. We really want to free our players to go out there and express themselves. Most of the time in this format you play on plastic surfaces and there are big runs scored. We've been very clear with that messaging - take the game on from ball one," he said.

The emergence of Tim Tector, who has impressed in his first two outings of the tour with his confident stroke play, is considered as one of the biggest positives for Ireland and Malan said he will back him to play his aggressive brand of cricket. "He (Tim Tector) has been doing really well back home and trying to break into the team and it's great to see that he goes out there and plays his natural game," he said.

"Hopefully, he (Tim Tector) can keep doing that tomorrow and as we head into the World Cup. We got a nice opportunity this afternoon to put some work into the areas we want to improve. Now it's about coming out here tomorrow and hopefully getting our goals done," he concluded.