You can do it, skipper Shanto told Rishad

At a stage of the match, Netherlands required 56 runs off 36 balls with seven wickets in hand. The Dutch were the favourites as two set batter Sybrand Engelbrecht and Scott Edwards were on the crease.

In such a tense situation, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto handed over the ball to young leg spinner Rishad Hossain, who conceded 19 runs in his first two overs.

This was a big gable but it paid off. Rishad repaid the captain’s trust in his picking up two wickets in an over.

After the match, Rishad Hossain said he knew they would move ahead if he could pick up one or two wickets.

Najmul gave the ball to the leggie in the 15th over. Rishad gave away seven runs in the first three balls of the over but took the wickets of Engelbrecht and all-rounder Bas de Leede in the next three balls of the over.

That over tilted the match towards the Tigers at Kingstown.

Overall, Rishad Hossain grabbed three wickets conceding 33 runs in his four overs.

Rishad has so far taken seven wickets in three matches in the T20 World Cup and met the needs of the team in every match. He wants to improve more.

At the end of the match, Rishad said in the mixed zone, “It feels good in all victories. I’m feeling good about the contributions. I liked everyone’s body language and effort. InshaAllah I will try to improve more. I tried to keep myself calm. I thought if we take one or two wickets from here, the game will tilt towards us. I tried to do that.”

Najmul has shown the most confidence in Rishad in this World Cup. Whenever a wicket was needed, he went to Rishad; used Rishad in the death overs as well. Even yesterday, Thursday, Nazmul had that trust in Rishad. “‘Shant bhai told me, you can do it, try, the rest is God’s will.’ Whenever I come to bowl I think about what I can give to the team. Be it picking up a wicket or a dot ball. I just tried. God has given the rest.”

Speaking about the wicket of St. Vincent Rishad said, “The wicket was good. We tried to play to our potential. We never felt that we were going to lose. Always thought the result will be seen in the final ball (of the match). I think we were 5-10 runs short, but that’s alright.”

Shakib Al Hasan scored fifty in the match against Netherlands after 20 innings in T20I and was the player of the match for the first time after 2021.

Before this match, there were whispers that “Shakib is finished”. That must have reached the team.

Speaking about this, Rishad Hossain, however, said that the team was not affected by all the noises outside. “We have not lost confidence in Shakib Bhai at all. We all know what Shakib bhai has been doing for the past few days. Everyone has faith in Shakib Bhai. InshAllah, you all have seen that today. Alhamdulillah.”

He was asked whether there is pressure for the bowlers when the batters do not get enough runs.

Rishad said, “There is no pressure, when we enter the field, 11 players try to stay together. It is not that one player performs well every day. We are improving day by day. We will definitely try to play well in the upcoming matches.”