Shakib pep talk inspired the team, say MOM Miraz
Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz emulated the feat of his captain Shakib al Hasan to help his side clinch a comprehensive win against Afghanistan in their World Cup opener and he gave credit to his skipper for the inspiration.
Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by six wickets at Dharamsala on Saturday and Miraz starred with bowl and bat picking up three wickets and scoring 57.
Shakib became the first Bangladeshi to score fifty and get three wickets in the same World Cup match when they faced the same opponents in 2019 in England.
Miraz not only imitated his feat but he said Shakib’s encouragement was the key for his success.
Like Bangladesh Miraz also got off to a poor start as he conceded nine runs including a wide that reached the boundary for five extra. At the end of that over, 15th in the innings, Afghanistan were cruising with 83-1 and Bangladesh players got a chance to hold them together as the drinks break occurred.
Shakib himself got a wicket very first ball after resumption. Mehidy started to exert pressure on the new batter that resulted in two consecutive wicket maidens and Afghanistan were reduced to 112-4. In the end they were capitulated with just 156 as Mehidy and Shakib both returned with three wickets apiece.
At the post-match press conference Mehidy revealed that the pep talk of Shakib inspired him and the whole team.
“I did not bowl well in the first over and conceded nine runs. I was a bit nervous. Shakib vai told me one thing; you can never be successful if you bowl with a negative mindset. You always have to bowl with a positive mindset. One has to remain as positive as possible in such a big tournament. If they hit me, no problem, make sure they have to charge. It was a drinks break then. He explained these things for a long time. These small things are vital.
Not only the inspiration, Miraz said the bowlers of Bangladesh share whatever information they fetch about pitch after bowling a couple of overs and the skipper makes sure the information is disseminated to the bowlers so that they may extract optimum output.
“Pacers did not bowl well early and the pressure was on spinners, But Shakib vai did well from the beginning. He got two wickets and that boosted the side. I also started bowling well. We did not expect a lot of turn in this track but after bowling two-three overs I found the ball was turning, it was not coming smoothly to the batters. Whenever I bowl in the good spot, if the ball turns, if it turns, I share the information to the captain. The captain disseminates to other bowlers. Our communication was very good, that is why we got success.
Although Miraz is primarily regarded as an off-spinner he has been serving the team frequently these days with bat as well. Not only has he been scoring vital runs but he is batting in various positions. He scored a century as opener against Afghanistan in the recent Asia Cup and made a ton batting at eight against India in December last year. But on Sunday he came at three.
“I have been getting runs since the India series as I have been working with my batting. I have thought a lot to improve my batting. If I bat well the team will be benefitted,” said Miraz who added that it is very vital to adjust according to the batting position.
Miraz, who led his side in the under-19 World Cup at the age of 16 in 2014, was adjudged player of the tournament in the under-19 World Cup back in 2016 and when asked whether he dreams to achieve such a feat in this tournament, he answered affirmative.
“If I can perform well in a big tournament it will be a great achievement for me. It will also help the team. Of course I dream big.”