Sports Desk:

Bangladesh batter Jaker Ali is optimistic that the team’s top order will find form on Pakistan’s batting-friendly wickets, where they are set to play their remaining two Champions Trophy matches.

Bangladesh suffered a six-wicket defeat against India in their tournament opener after managing a moderate total of 228, having recovered from a disastrous 35-5.

Top-order struggles have been a recurring issue for Bangladesh, proving costly in recent matches. However, Jaker remains hopeful that the Rawalpindi pitch, where Bangladesh secured their historic Test series win against Pakistan, will offer favorable conditions for batting.

Bangladesh will face New Zealand on February 24 and Pakistan on February 27 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

“In those wickets (in Pakistan) I just hope that they can score runs. If there is big score in opening or at the top-things become easy for us. If the wicket is good we hope to have some good result. We have seen the match between Pakistan and New Zealand and the wicket looks good (in Pakistan),” Jaker told reporters after their opening game against India.

“I still believe we have a chance to make a comeback in the tournament. I’m confident we can perform better. Despite the tough situation in the opening game, the way this team fought shows we have a lot to build on. We need to be spot-on if we want to survive in the tournament and must excel in every aspect,” he said.

Jaker added that they are taking inspiration from the way they made the comeback despite their back was against the wall during their game against India.

Jaker made 68 and added 154 runs with Hridoy, who scored his maiden ODI century, after Bangladesh were reduced to a precarious 35-5 in just 8.3 overs, following a bowling burst of Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel.

“It was difficult in the beginning. We lost five wickets trying to adapt with the condition. Though it was difficult we tried to put up a good score. We did well in the middle over but we could not finish off well. If we could do a little better it would have been good for us because the game could have come close,” he said. “I was playing according to my plan. My plan was to play with an eye on creating opportunity but unfortunately got out. I was trying to play keeping my intent in right order,” he said adding that they were not thinking too far ahead.

“We were talking normally, and instead of overthinking, we chose to move forward and play our natural game. We didn’t focus too much on the bigger picture; we just concentrated on playing ball by ball, with no attention to the scorecard. A lot had happened by that time, and we were simply focused on taking the game deep,” he said.

Jaker admitted that he was lucky to survive the hat-trick ball after Rohit Sharma dropped him when he edged it to slip against a turning ball of Patel.

“It was difficult facing the first ball, and everyone knew it was a hat-trick ball. After playing the first ball, I understood the situation and changed my approach. Once I played the second ball, I got a better sense of the wicket conditions. I focused on taking it ball by ball. When I looked back and saw that the catch had been dropped, I focused even more on the next ball,” he said.