[BengaliPagol]

Originally Posted by nahaz
Hey buddy,
Calm down. What is with the personal agenda against Md. Ashraful Motin? Ash was pivotal in this Ireland T20 series with solid contributions at the top. Look at Tamim's highest score ever (seriously his highest T20 score is 39) in the last T20 vs Ireland. He scored at pretty much even strike rate. Why? Because 1) He was desperately trying to get a good contribution ; and 2) a solid contribution at the top makes it a lot easier for the likes of Zia and Shakib to hit freely. Exactly the same applies for Ash. Yes, they should both score about 8 per over. But it is a lot tougher batting against the new ball, and we had lost 4 wickets in the first 6 overs numerous times previously in T20s. I for one think Ash is doing a fine job supporting Tamim, and their partnership is quite reassuring. Now if you look down the order, Shakib, Rahim, Zia and Nasir are all capable of scoring at 140+SR from the get go. If those guys contribute, and Riyad does his bit, this is a good batting lineup all the way down to No.8- Mashrafee.

Ashraful is doing his bit for the team. I hope he continues that in the WC, and that the others all chip in too, and chip in together, to get us through to the next round, or two. Even though I am an Ash fan, to foreigners I always brag about Shakib. Don't know why one wouldn't.

Exactly. Spot on. That was exactly what i was thinking. Shakib, Nasir, Rahim, Ziaur are more than capable of scoring 140+ strike rate. So i would say Ashraful's role is to make a run a ball 50 partnership with Tamim, so they can put a decent total on the board before Shakib, Nasir, Mushfiq, Ziaur can launch an assault. We have had problems at the top of the order where the first 3 batsmen make single digit figures due to trying to hit the ball. I think that can be avoided now due to the way Ashraful is playing.