Zimbabwe head coach Lalchand Rajput believes that Bangladesh will be more under pressure being hosts and his team will try to put extra pressure on the Tigers as the tourists are desperate to win the one-off Test starting Saturday (February 22) in Dhaka after a series of successive defeats.
He further stressed on the need to handle pressure well to win the match, saying Zimbabwe has done well in Bangladesh last time and they will now try to impose that pressure on the hosts in the upcoming Test, as the Tigers have been struggling in the longer format in the recent past.
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Rajput told reporters at BKSP, “Obviously any team losing continuously will be under pressure and they will be under more pressure as they are playing at home. Definitely, we are going put pressure on them because we have done well here the last time and we will try to impose that pressure.”
He continued, “In cricket, at the international level, the team that handles pressure well always wins and we will try to do that. The positive attitude will definitely go into the mind. As I said, we got to be positive in our approach we can't be negative. We got to go and put our front foot forward.”
Former India coach also said that the tourists are looking to take inspiration from their last series against Sri Lanka where they fought very well before losing the game.
He further explained, “We just had a series against Sri Lanka which was a very good series for us, and in fact, we should have won the last Test match. At the end, taking a game to the fifth day is very important. I think, [against us] earlier people used to think 'let's go and finish the Test match in three days', it's not like that now. We want to compete hard that's what we are here for.
I think we have worked very hard and we are trying to get to a level where we can compete against the top teams as well. It's been a slow process but still, we are getting there and we are improving every tour and that is a very satisfying thing for Zimbabwe cricket.”
Rajput is looking forward to work with the Zimbabwe Cricket Director and former captain Hamilton Masakadza, adding: “He [Hamilton] was the captain of our team and he knows the new players and what are the drawbacks of the team, which can be helpful.”
He signed off by saying, “Being a cricketer always helps because communication and understanding is much better [with a cricketer]. I am sure Hamilton, in years to come, will do a good job.”
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
