Rising

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful insists he is still in reasonable batting form despite his recent run of poor scores against South Africa.

The Proteas - hot on the heels of their nine-wicket victory in Chittagong - registered a seven-wicket win in the second one-day international on Wednesday to establish an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The hosts' batting displays have been well below par, with star man Ashraful the main culprit having scored just eight runs in the first two ODIs after a poor Test series.

The skipper was dismissed early in the innings on Wednesday when he went for a pull shot off Andre Nel and was caught brilliantly at square leg by Albie Morkel, who had to run quite a distance to his left from fine leg.

Ashraful maintains the shot was on despite the early loss of opener Tamim Iqbal.

"The plan was to play my natural strokes as I was there at number three," he told TigerCricket.com :: Official Website of Bangladesh Cricket Board.

"I think I did everything right with that shot except the placement. I wanted to play it more towards square leg."

Of his overall form, he added: "I think I am batting okay. I am feeling confident and the ball is hitting the right areas of the bat.

"In the first match I thought I was a touch unlucky and (in the second) I got out too early."

But the 23-year-old denies the pressure of leading the team is affecting his batting.

"Not at all," he said. "I feel I have batted better after getting the captaincy.

"Sometimes you just need a start and a bit of luck going your way.

"A captain should set the example. At the moment I am not performing. It's just not happening for me."

Bangladesh's batsmen will have one last chance to redeem themselves in the third ODI on Friday, and Ashraful is confident they will perform.

"I am hoping the batting will come good in that game because we all know that we have capable batsmen," he said.

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