Fearless cricket can bring T20i triumph, says Mahmudullah

Bangladesh T20i skipper Mahmudullah Riyad believe that there is nothing called favourite in T20i format and he said that fearless cricket is the only mantra to win in the format.
Tigers will take on Blackcaps today in the 1st of the three-match T20i series. "We know that the condition here is always challenging for us," Mahmudullah said in the pre-match virtual press conference on Sunday. "They utilized home condition very well and did outstanding performance in ODIs. We didn't do well as batting unit. Our bowlers did well but we couldn't grip the result due to fielding mistakes".
New Zealand swept Bangladesh cleanly in the ODI series. The 50-over games fiasco must be demoralized visiting players. But Mahmudullah thinks otherwise. He said, "If we can play fearless cricket legging behind all inertia then we can bring a T20 match in our favour."
"I do believe that we have hunger for win and we are desperate to grab it," he stated optimistically.
"T20 is a format where there's nothing called big or small team. Irrespective to the ranking position, we can beat any team in a given day if we can perform according to our plan, if couple of our cricketers can do something outstanding and if we can execute our plans in batting-bowling-fielding the result will come in our favour ," Mahmudullah revealed the secrets he believes. Bangladesh batmen had to struggle in negotiating New Zealand pacers. Trent Boult, Matte Henry and James Neesham emerged as destroyer for guests' batters. None of those frontline bowlers will be seen in T20 series but still home side have quality pacers like skipper Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, while leggy Ish Sodhi also will create tough time in the middle. Mahmudullah is aware of the fact and urged his mates to be cautious and gave emphasize on concentration during fielding since Bangladesh slipped the 2nd ODI due to ugly fielding display.
"You have to be cautious in such conditions since there has wind and at times and ball travels on the air. So, in order to grip the high catches and flat catches, it is very important to stay prepared," he suggested.
Bangladesh will meet with New Zealand couple of occasions after today. The 2nd and 3rd T20 matches of the series will be held on March 30 and April 1 respectively.