For Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza, the five-wicket win against Pakistan was the biggest for the country as far as Twenty20 internationals are concerned. The Tigers coming into the tournament never believed that they would make it to the final of the five-nation tournament given their weak history in the format. They however, had the confidence of making a change and they did it in some style.
Riding on wins over Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh reached the final of the Asia Cup Twenty20. This is only the second occasion the Tigers have reached the final of a major tournament. The Tigers’ first final appearance also came in the Asia Cup in 2012 but it ended in bitter fashion as Pakistan pipped through by just two runs.
“I have been part of many Bangladesh wins. But the one [yesterday] is by far the best, at least in the T20 perspective. We have a big tournament (World T20) ahead where we need to qualify to play in the main round. I believe the boys will take confidence from this win and also from the tournament,” Mashrafe told the media in the post match press conference yesterday.
Bangladesh experienced a similar situation four years ago to the one they faced yesterday against the same opponents. In the 2012 Asia Cup final, the Tigers were stranded just two runs short of the target with Mahmudullah and Shahadat Hossain the unbeaten batsmen at the crease.
Mahmudullah was in the middle yesterday too but this time he succeeded, hammering a four off the first ball of the last over to take the Tigers to an emphatic win. The middle-order batsman remained unbeaten on 22 off 15 balls.
“He (Mahmudullah) still feels the day when we lost the game by only two runs. [Yesterday] he was almost in the same situation but I always had the belief in him. I wanted him to get the winning runs. He did a fantastic job. Back in the dressing he told me he is delighted,” Mashrafe said.
As for the grand finale itself, Mashrafe said, “That’s another big game for us. I am not worried of winning or losing. What I want is to see my team play as a unit and prepare in the best way possible within the time we have in hand. We will decide what to do and what not to but before that, I want to prepare my team in the best way possible,” said Mashrafe.