Hunger for victory makes the difference: Rajput
Photo - Cricfrenzy
|| CF Correspondent ||
Zimbabwe were hungrier than Bangladesh to win the Test, revealed their coach Lalchand Rajput. He said that ‘Hunger’ factor specially made the difference in the Test.
The 56-year-old rated the victory against Bangladesh as a ‘Landmark’ win, insisting that the outcome of the first Test would revive Zimbabwean cricket, which is struggling to step with the rhythm of the elite phase of the cricket and also couldn’t make it 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time.
A stylish batsman Rajput, who played two Tests and four ODIs for India in the mid ’80s, also praised the players’ strong mentality to successfully pull the heist following a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh in the ODI series.
He said the victory is even sweeter because the likes of Australia, England and others struggled here in the recent past.
“Because even big Test playing countries come here and struggle to beat Bangladesh in Bangladesh. It’s a huge win for us, psychologically, mentally,” Rajput told reporters after his side completed a 151-run victory over Bangladesh to go up 1-0 in the two-match series.
“This will definitely revive Zimbabwean cricket. We have started believing that we can’t only win at home, we can win abroad as well. This is the first step and we need to kick on from here.
“We were hungry to win. We wanted really badly to win the match. Because we had been losing in previous games. That was a key area, because if you’re hungry for success, you’ll do well,” he said.
“The mental aspect (in which we were ahead of them). The way we batted in the first two days, that really showed the character of the players. From the first day the wicket was turning, it was slow, and batsmen were a little worried about whether the match would last four or five days. So I just said keep calm, you’ve got to trust your defense, and basically it’s important that you show temperament and character. And our players have really shown that,” said Rajput.
Zimbabwe’s last victory at Test before this match came in 2013 when they beat Pakistan at Harare but their last away victory was against Bangladesh in 2001.
