Mushfiq praises team effort

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim praised the team performance as well as management for the country’s memorable win against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the Indian capital Sunday.

The Tigers chased down the 149-run target set by India in 19.3 overs, earning a 1-0 lead in the T20I series. 

Mushfiq was declared man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 60 off 43 balls. 

During the post-match press conference, Mushfiq gave credit to young players such as Aminul Islam Biplob and Afif Hossain, as well as the Bangladesh bowlers for restricting India to a below-par score.

“It is a great moment for us, as we have lost few close matches against India in recent years and had never won against them in T20Is. We were missing two of our key players in the line-up, but the way the young players played and our bowlers performed against a strong batting side like India is outstanding. We had nothing to lose in the match and series, and that gave us the freedom to play fearless cricket,” the wicketkeeper-batsman said.    

“There were some shocking moments in Bangladesh cricket over the past few weeks, with quite a few ups and downs. But the way the coaching staff helped the team regroup and keep focus was impressive. We came here as the underdog, but the way the team played and performed, we must give credit to the whole team for the win.

“Our team management really worked well, particularly our head coach [Russell Domingo].He really backs the young players out there and gave them confidence to play with freedom. You may concede 25 runs in two overs or get out on the first ball, but you are still an important part of the team.”

Bangladesh will play the second game of the three-match T20I series in Rajkot Thursday.

1ST T20I

INDIA INNINGS            R    B

Rohit lbw b Shafiul             9    5

Dhawan run out (Mahmudullah)    41    42

Rahul c Mahmudullah b Aminul     15    17

Iyer c Naim b Aminul             22    13

Pant c Naim b Shafiul             27    26

Dube c & b Afif             1    4

Krunal not out                15    8

Sundar not out            14    5

Extras (lb 3, w 1)            4 

Total (20 Overs)            148/6 

Fall Of Wickets

1-10 (Rohit), 2-36 (Rahul), 3-70 (Iyer), 4-95 (Dhawan), 5-102 (Dube), 6-120 (Pant)

Bowling

Shafiul 4-0-36-2, Al-Amin 4-0-27-0, Mustafizur 2-0-15-0, Aminul 3-0-22-2, Soumya 2-0-16-0, Afif 3-0-11-1, Mosaddek 1-0-8-0, Mahmudullah 1-0-10-0

BANGLADESH INNINGS    R    B

Liton c Rahul b Chahar    7    4

Naim c Dhawan b Chahal    26    28

Soumya b Ahmed        39    35

Mushfiq not out        60    43

Mahmudullah not out        15    7

Extras (lb 3, w 4)        7 

Total (19.3 Overs)        154/3 

Fall Of Wickets

1-8 (Liton), 2-54 (Naim), 3-114 (Soumya)

Bowling

Chahar 3-0-24-1, Sundar 4-0-25-0, Khaleel 4-0-37-1, Chahal 4-0-24-1, Krunal 4-0-32-0, Dube 0.3-0-9-0

Bangladesh won by seven wickets

MoM: Mushfiqur Rahim