Shakib: Will try to play longer innings at No 3

Man of the match Shakib al Hasan termed the convincing eight-wicket win against Zimbabwe as a confidence booster as the Tigers started their tri-nation ODI series campaign with a high-flying performance. It was almost a perfect day for Bangladesh in the 50-over format as the Tigers dominated all three departments – batting, bowling and fielding. Bangladesh’s superlative performance ensured Zimbabwe had no chance of making a comeback in the game. “It’s a good start for us in the new year. Momentum is always important. As we are playing a tri-nation tournament, it’s always important to start with a win. The win will give us good confidence against Sri Lanka, who may pose a greater challenge to us. So mentally, this win will help us. I believe bowlers bowled really well. So this confidence will help us in the next match,” Shakib said during the post-match press conference at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Monday. “Our win was predictable. I expected them to bat better but I think we bowled really well. Mustafizur [Rahman], Mashrafe [bin Mortaza] and Rubel [Hossain] did great work. Rubel always bowls when batsmen are set and scoring runs; he always delivers for the team. Nasir’s [Hossain] four overs were important too,” he added.

For a fine all round performance which got Bangladesh off to a winning start in the Tri Series, @Sah75official is awarded the Player of the Match award.https://t.co/KIRIXlo3J9 #BANvZIM pic.twitter.com/buenl8JN6I

— ICC (@ICC) January 15, 2018

Shakib is now batting in a crucial position, No 3, for Bangladesh. The left-hander said he is looking forward to this challenge and will try to play longer innings’ batting in this position in future. “It’s a new challenge for me. It’s tough to enjoy the game if there is no more new challenge out there. So it’s a new challenge, new responsibility for me. I will try to play big innings if I get set out there. Playing big innings after getting set is the job of a top-order batsman. So I will try to play longer innings from now on while batting in No 3,” Shakib explained. Winnings the toss, Bangladesh opted to bowl as Shakib took two wickets in the very first over to send Zimbabwe to the backfoot straightaway. This is the first time a Bangladesh bowler took two wickets in the first over. Shakib informed that starting the innings with spin from both ends was part of their game-plan. “One of the reasons we have many successes against Zimbabwe is because of left-arm spin. Zimbabwe batsmen play pace bowling more comfortably, compared to spin. Bowlers also got help early in the morning. It was important for us to get some early wickets. That’s why we opted to start the innings with left-arm spin from both end,” he said.