Mashrafe Mortaza poured heaps of praises on Shakib and Mahmudullah

Bangladesh pulled off a stunning victory yesterday in their last league match of the Group A against New Zealand. Their skipper Mashrafe Mortaza hailed the match-winning partnership of Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah. The duo took their side out of trouble and registered a famous win for their country.

Chasing New Zealand’s target of 266, they were down to 33/4 in the 12th over. The top 4 batsmen including the in-form Tamim Iqbal were back in the hut. But from then on, Shakib and Mahmudullah constructed a majestic 224-run partnership that got them home. Both batsmen notched up centuries and kept their campaign alive.

“We thought 266 was gettable, but after 33 for four it becomes very hard. Once the partnership got to a hundred I knew those two could make a difference. They’ve done it a lot of other times, but it was phenomenal to get a 200 partnership,” Mortaza said.

The opening batsman Tamim had scored a century and a 95 in the previous 2 matches and a lot was expected of him against the Kiwis. But the left-hander couldn’t stand up this time. The skipper believed that Tamim can’t win it every time and they have a bunch of other talented players who can do the job.

“We know Tamim cannot get a score every time, but we have got some excellent players who can win games,” the fast bowler told the reporters after winning the match.

The job’s not done yet

Although Bangladesh achieved a wonderful victory yet it doesn’t guarantee them a place in the semi-finals and they’ll have to wait for the outcome of the match between Australia and England. The Asian side will qualify if the hosts defeat the World Champions.

“That will be nice (if England win), but we can’t just expect Australia to lose that game. I would like to say the best of luck to both teams because whatever we could do, we did. That is most important for us,” he added.

“Obviously, I would like to go to the semis and if we do we will hopefully play better cricket than in the last three matches. We have to wait now, but in the last three years, we keep improving a lot. This sort of performance really helps us to move forward, especially with the 2019 World Cup (in England) coming up. It will really boost the team,” said Mortaza.

It is not the first time Bangladesh have done something like this. In almost every ICC event, they have managed to defeat stronger sides. There was a criticism about their inclusion in the Champions Trophy but their thumping win against the 2015 ODI World Cup runners-up, has certainly silenced everyone.