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The recent series win over Sri Lanka would give Bangladesh added confidence in their Asia Cup encounter at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi today, stated pacer Tanzim Hasan. 

The match is scheduled for 8:30pm Bangladesh Standard Time. T Sports will telecast the game live, while the fans can also watch it online at Toffee and Tapmad.

Liton Das-led side beat Hong Kong comfortably by seven wickets in their tournament opener on Thursday. 

The captain led Bangladesh to victory after the bowlers restricted Hong Kong to 143-7. Liton scored 59 off 39—which is his third fifty in the last four innings—as Bangladesh reached the target with 17 balls and seven wickets remaining. 

However, their batting approach against Hong Kong has faced some scrutiny as boundaries dried up in the middle overs. 

Towhid Hridoy, who was unbeaten on 35 off 36 balls, clarified that their main objective was to win. 

‘So, should we have gone to the ground to lose against Hong Kong? Our target was to win. Every team can have their day in T20s. Maybe we could have finished earlier had I struck a few more boundaries,’ Hridoy said after the match. 

‘We want to beat Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, so run rate isn’t what we are worried about at this stage. We don’t want to complicate matters so early in the tournament,’ he added. 

Tanzim said the target would be the same against Sri Lanka, whom they defeated in a T20I series 2-1 in July.

‘It’s very straightforward. Our approach will be to go for the win. Last time we won the T20 series in Sri Lanka, which gives us confidence. We will step onto the field looking for victory,’ said Tanzim, who returned figures of 2-22 against Hong Kong.

‘We have played a lot of games against Sri Lanka. Before the Asia Cup, we played a whole series with them. We know each and every player, and we plan accordingly. They have some very good players, and we will try to stop them by playing our best cricket.’

There has been a rivalry between the two teams for quite some time now. But to Tanzim, winning is all that matters. 

‘Rivalries will always be there. But in a tournament, no matter which team you play against, winning is the main thing. Be it Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, or Pakistan, we will enter the field to win,’ he said. 

‘For me, rivalries are not the key issue; winning matches is what’s important. And winning the last series against Sri Lanka gives us a lot of confidence. When you’ve beaten a team before, it definitely gives you a boost on the field,’ he added. 

He also mentioned that the recent performances against Sri Lanka would help the Tigers in this match. 

‘We will go in with extra confidence against Sri Lanka. We beat them in the ODI World Cup, and we also won the last series,’ said the pacer. ‘That gives us a big boost. Since we’ve played so many matches against them, we know every player well. We know their weak zones. So, we will go in well prepared.’

Tanzim also reflected on the Abu Dhabi wicket. 

‘The pitch [of the Hong Kong match] is very good. I really enjoyed bowling there; it looks like a very sporty wicket. If you hit the surface hard, the ball moves, and the batters have to play according to the balls. I really enjoyed it,’ he added.