Towhid Hridoy who played a match-winning 47 not out to help Bangladesh win the two-match T20 International series opener against Afghanistan by two wickets, said he stayed calm despite a dramatic hat-trick of Karim Janat in the last over.
Bangladesh which appeared to win the game with ease, with six runs needing in the last over, found them in wanting after Janat’s hat-trick in the last over that accounted Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed and Nasum Ahmed.
But Shoriful Islam cut a short delivery of Janat fiercely past point for boundary as Bangladesh sneaked home in the penultimate delivery.
“I was confident. Because, I knew Taskin, Nasum and even Shariful, can bat well. In a match against England we won the match after Taskin hit two consecutive fours. I already had faith in Shoriful because I know his potential. We are playing under-19 team together and he can hit big sixes,” Hridoy said after Bangladesh won the game to take 1-0 lead.
“I said one thing to Shariful, ‘Even if you don’t hit the ball with the bat, you will run.’ Then at the end I said, ‘You will win the match.”
“I was normal. Because I knew it is only two runs and one hit can do it. If one can hit ball, it will be one or two runs. I tried to stay calm at that time. Since I was on non strike end, I tried to give my partners as much information as possible about what the bowler might do. That’s it.”
Even though his 47 not out was crucial to take the game into the deep after early trouble that saw Bangladesh being reduced to 64-4, Hridoy said it was a total team effort.
“I think everyone contributed in today’s match. Not just me, Shoriful or Shamim. The three of us played the World Cup (Youth) together. If you see from the beginning, Taskin bowled very well… every bowler, starting from Shakib Al Hasan, everyone has given a very good start. Everyone had a contribution, be it fielding or contributed in all aspects.”
“Especially if you talk about us, we always try to contribute to the team and every player does that. We are playing for the country. It is always in mind that I will play for the country, I will bring good results to the country.”
Hridoy and Shamim Patwari shared a 73 runs off just 43 balls to edge Bangladesh closer before latter played an expensive slog-sweep against Rashid Khan to throw his wicket.
“I told Shamim only one thing, we have won many such matches. Maybe it’s in domestic circuit. Since we bat in the middle order, we have faced many such situations. I told him that if we can bring momentum in one or two overs, we can turn around the game. We managed to do just that. Momentum changed in two overs in between,” Hridoy remarked.
Hriody further said they were able to execute their plan well against the much-vaunted Afghanistan spin attack.
“We had a plan. They have the best spin attack in the world. It is difficult to run with them. Despite that, we have tried to take calculative risk as much as we can. I think every match in international cricket is challenging. Every opponent has their strengths. We executed as we planned,” he added.
“We tried to stay positive and always had one thing in mind that whatever the situation may be, we will do as the situation demands.”
He said the way they won the game, it would boost their confidence for the upcoming challenges.
“A match like this will give confidence to every player regardless of who wins it. Because, such matches rarely happen. Being where I was, it feels good to finish the match from a place like that. Because such a situation does not always come. When such an opportunity comes, every batsman aims to finish it. It feels good to be able to do that,” Hriody pointed out.
“We support each and every player who is in the team. We know what our potential is. To be honest, we are moving in a very positive direction. Whoever we play against, we always focus on our strengths. Our bonding as a team is very good and it helps us. Coach gives us a good plan and we try to execute it.”
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha