Tamim allays fitness concerns with steady knock

Tamim Iqbal allayed concerns over his fitness with a steady 81 on his return to competitive cricket, against Pakistan in Bangladesh's first World Cup warm-up match in Blacktown. Bangladesh ended up losing the game by three wickets, but Tamim felt that there was much more to take away from this game than their two losses in Brisbane last week.

An arthroscopic surgery on Tamim's left knee had left a question mark over his World Cup build-up, but he met every deadline in January and even joined the training camp in Dhaka. He had one last platela-rich plasma (PRP) injection in Melbourne prior to joining the two-week camp in Brisbane, and despite missing the two practice matches there, Tamim was deemed fit for Monday's game.

He struck five boundaries in his 109-ball innings, but missed a century after he was bowled by Yasir Shah in the 41st over, while trying to step out of the crease to the bowler. More than the runs, Tamim was happy to get time in the middle in his first competitive innings since December 2014.

"A hundred always brings an altogether different confidence," Tamim said. "I am quite happy that I could start well on my return. I needed this confidence ahead of a major tournament. I think my plan was right at that point in time. If I had executed the shot well, it would have been better, but that didn't happen. I have no regret about the shot I played."

Batting first in front of a 3,000-strong crowd, Bangladesh were 184 for 2 after Tamim and Mahmudullah added 168 for the third wicket. Mahmudullah, who made 83 off 109 balls, was run out at the start of the 40th over and Tamim was bowled by Shah in the following over, as he missed the ball after stepping out to hit. Mushfiqur fell off the next delivery, and within 10 balls, Bangladesh were 190 for 5.

They ultimately failed to defend a sub-par total of 246 runs, but Tamim felt that the big partnership, the early bowling spell - which had reduced Pakistan to 8 for 2 in the fifth over - and the periods of control over Pakistan were positives for the team.

"I got out, then [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai and next ball Mushfiqur [Rahim]. It all happened in the space of 2-3 overs. So I felt that we fell short by 20 runs. This was an important situation and then we gave away a few boundary balls in the last few overs. I still think that we can take a lot of positives from these practice matches despite the results not going our way.

"We were in a winning position at one point, against a team like Pakistan. I think confidence is building up in the whole team that we can fight against big team. Maybe the result will not always go against us, it may go in our favour. It was a good match, as far as I am concerned.

Tamim stressed that Bangladesh needed to win the last warm-up game against Ireland, on February 12, to ensure a confident start to the World Cup. Bangladesh play their first league match against Afghanistan on February 18 in Canberra.

"It is always helpful to make a winning start ahead of the tournament. We didn't get it in the two practice matches in Brisbane or here. We could take a lot of positives from this practice match. If we can win the next one, everyone will enter the tournament with much confidence. We will be well prepared for February 18," he said.