Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the hero of Bangladesh’s thrilling one-wicket victory against India, said they needed to get over the line in a close game like this to boost their confidence after suffering several defeats from similar positions in the past.
“We badly needed to win a close match like this. Because we were losing again and again from such situations. We lost many matches after getting close to victory. But today (Sunday) we were able to win so I feel very good,” Miraz said after the match on Sunday, reports news agency BSS.
Miraz held his nerves to steer the hosts to an unlikely win after the Tigers were nine wickets down with still 51 runs to get.
He finished on 38 not out off 39 balls with four fours and two sixes and was helped by No. 11 batsman Mustafizur Rahman, who finished unbeaten on 10 as Bangladesh reached 187-9 in 46 overs.
It was Bangladesh’s second 50-plus partnership for the 10th wicket in ODIs but the first one that resulted in a victory.
“Mustafizur is a very good friend of mine and has been very supportive. One thing I really liked was that he was very confident. He kept telling me that there was nothing to worry about.
“He said ‘I will block the ball’. He also said he has no problem taking some blows to the body. Even if gets hit by the ball, he won’t give away his wicket. His confidence boosted mine,” Miraz said.
Miraz took his chances to chase down the total, hitting four boundaries and two sixes against the Indian bowlers where one false shot could’ve resulted in a defeat.
After the match, Miraz described what his thought process was during his match-winning partnership with Mustafiz.
“Initially, I took risks when we needed 50 runs. But I was a bit more cautious when 14 odd runs were needed because in the past we have lost many times after getting really close.
“But Mustafiz encouraged me, that was very helpful. He was saying one thing again and again that there is no need to rush and no need to hit a six. He told me to find the gaps. That was also what I was thinking. I was crystal clear about my game plan as to what I had to do. Alhamdulillah, it went very well.”