‘This is a big opportunity for us’

DHAKA: In the last 11 years, Bangladesh have won only three out of nine deciding matches in a bilateral One-day International (ODI) series comprising three or more games. The three wins have come against Zimbabwe in 2005 and 2009, and against West Indies in 2012.The third ODI in Chittagong on Wednesday gives them a chance to add another win to that list - this time against South Africa.
After losing to South Africa by eight wickets in the first game, Bangladesh bounced back in the second match with a seven-wicket win. With the three-match series tied 1-1, Bangladesh have a chance to claim their third straight home bilateral series win in 2015 and allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has little doubt about the importance of the occasion.
“This is big, no doubt,” Shakib said. “We haven’t achieved such things before. Whenever you go to achieve something you haven’t, then it will obviously seem big. We haven’t beaten South Africa in a series before so that is a big deal.
“Because this is the series decider, however, it is important. We haven’t lost at home in a long time. So this will be another opportunity for us if we can win this match. I won’t tell you how big a match this is, but this is a very big opportunity for us.”
Against Zimbabwe in 2005, Bangladesh were trailing 2-0 in the five-match series before they made a comeback and won the decider by eight wickets.
In the three-match series against Zimbabwe in January 2009, they lost the first match but bounced back quite comfortably to win the series 2-1.
Against West Indies, they took a 2-0 lead in Khulna before losing the third and fourth games, and the fifth ODI was a tight affair which they won by two wickets.