Texas, May 27 (UNI) USA head coach Stuart Law rules out any favourites at the T20 World Cup after 2-1 series win against Bangladesh.
In his first assignment as the newly appointed head coach of USA, Law has already helped the side to their record first T20I series victory against a full-member team.
After the series win, Law claimed that USA had come with greater intent to win than Bangladesh in Texas.
“We had more desire and passion about the game in the first two matches,” said Law after the final T20I.
Bangladesh were able to bounce back in the last match with a 10-wicket win after an inspiring bowling performance from Mustafizur Rahman as he snared his career-best T20I figures of 6/10.
As the series win was locked, USA rested key players – captain Monank Patel, opener Steven Taylor, all-rounder Harmeet Singh and fast bowler Ali Khan – to put their bench to the test with the T20 World Cup fast approaching, an ICC report said.
“We wanted it a bit more than what they did. Today it was a different story. We may have relaxed a little bit. Bangladesh played pretty well. They will take this in their stride,” Law said.
“It is great preparation. Playing games is so much better than hitting balls in the nets. Anything can happen in one-off games. That’s what the World Cup is like. No one goes in as ultimate favourites,” he said.
“We were in a privileged position today with the series in our hands. It was nice to give opportunities to other players. We wanted to make sure everyone had a game before they go into the World Cup, which will be cut-throat. Every game will be like a final. We have had two very good performances in the two wins here,” added Law.
The stand-in skipper Aaron Jones furthered Law’s point of no favourites as he asserted that USA beating Pakistan or India wouldn’t be termed an ‘upset’.
“We are a very good team. Obviously we showed that against Bangladesh, one of the best teams in the world. I wouldn’t call it an upset if we beat Pakistan or India. I will just say that we played better cricket on the day. It is a game of cricket. The bigger teams can lose as well,” said Jones.
The co-hosts of the tournament are placed in Group A with India, Pakistan, Ireland and Canada with their first match scheduled on June 1 against Canada in Dallas to inaugurate the T20 World Cup.
