Tamim hopeful of beating India in Asia Cup final

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Southpaw opener Tamim Iqbal believes Tigers are capable to beat India to clinch the Asia Cup trophy when the two neighbors meet in a high voltage final of Micromax Asia Cup T20 scheduled to be held today (Sunday) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur.Dashing Tamim has lovely memories of matches against India and not a single Indian supporter has forgotten the six that he hit off Zaheer Khan during their upset victory in 2007 50-over ICC World Cup in Port of Spain.”I have forgotten about that match but you guys always remind me. Yes, we have had some memorable matches against India. I believe if we play to our potential, there is every possibility of beating India. We have defeated them in 50-over format last year and there is no reason we can’t repeat that in 20-over format,” Tamim told reporters on Saturday after practice session.Tamim sounded confident while talking about India’s new speedster Jasprit Bumrah, who bowls with an unusual action.”In our team meeting we discussed about Jasprit Bumrah. We have seen footage of his bowling. I have done my homework on him and let’s see how it goes.”But it’s not only Bumrah but every Indian player is important for us. But we would like to focus on our strength. If we get a good ball, we will respect the ball and if it needs to be punished, we will do it,” he said.He shared with reporters about his recent success in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) which undoubtedly has increased his confidence. “Any good knock gives you confidence and my performance in the PSL is no different. But Sunday, it will be a different game and I will have to take fresh guard. But definitely aim will be to translate my good form in T20 leagues into a good performance for national team.”Tamim, who could not play the first part of the Asia Cup as his wife was due to have their first child, summed up regarding T20 as a “game of two overs” which actually decides the fate of the match.”When you look at a T20 game, it is not the entire 20 overs which decide the fate of the match. It is those two overs somewhere, which changes the course of the match. It could be two overs, where 30 runs were hammered and that might make the difference. It can also happen while bowling where one team may lose four wickets in a space of two overs changing the fate of the match,” he concluded.

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