Tigers look to finish on a high

After three heavy defeats against Sri Lanka and India, Bangladesh will look to finish their Asia Cup foray on a high note when they take on hosts Pakistan in their final game at the Karachi National Stadium today. The match, which will kick off at 4:00pm as usual, may be just another one-day international for Bangladesh, but certainly it will not be the case for hosts Pakistan. Pakistan have outclassed India in their last game and are now looking for a place in the final. They will have an outside chance of making final, provided Sri Lanka win against India in Thursday’s game. Even if that does not happen, Pakistan will try to tear apart Bangladesh for a consolation victory. In either case, it will be again a testing time for the Bangladeshi cricketers on the field and they know it better than anyone else. Talking to Bangladeshi reporters at the National Bank of Pakistan ground in Karachi, where the Tigers sweated for at least three hours in nets, vice-captain Mashrafee bin Murtaza vowed not to give Pakistan anything without a fight. ‘Until the last game, we were playing good cricket in the competition especially with the bat. They (the batsmen) lost the momentum in the last game, but I just hope it won’t be repeated,’ he said. ‘If we can restrict Pakistan to under 300 runs anything can happen,’ Mashrafee said referring to the batting-friendly pitches in the tournament.