Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim put their 3-0 win over New Zealand in the just-concluded one-day series ahead of their last home series against the Black Caps in October 2010, which the Tigers won 4-0. ‘Both the series wins are great, but personally I will go for this series over 2010,’ Mushfiq said after Sunday’s four-wicket win in the third one-day international at Fatullah.
‘We had a couple of injuries, that of Sakib al Hasan, and Tamim Iqbal for the last game and we overcame that.
‘We were a bit handicapped before the series got underway [in terms of injuries and a lack of matches] but by the time it ended, we are all satisfied.
‘Of course as a captain the 2013 series will give me more satisfaction,’ said Mushfiq.
Bangladesh humiliated New Zealand in 2010, back when nobody would have dared to bet on such an outcome as they still carried the tag of international minnows.
Sakib al Hasan almost single-handedly guided Bangladesh to that series win, which stunned the world and left New Zealand shell-shocked, triggering a wholesale change in their cricket structure.
Unlike the previous series, the latest result was not completely unexpected, though it was still a big ask for a Bangladesh side with many problems to tackle.
New Zealand were also better prepared this time around, and a host of one-day specialists, who arrived after the drawn Test series, gave their side a formidable look.
Bangladesh suffered a bolt from the blue just before the series, when their star all-rounder and the chief architect of the 2010 success Sakib was diagnosed with dengue and was ruled out for the series.
For any team, this could have been morale-shattering, but Bangladesh showed they were a different proposition. Naeem Islam grabbed his opportunity with both hands, scoring two fifties and making sure the Tigers did not feel the absence of Sakib.
When they were forced to drop an under-performing Anamul Haque from the top order, Shamsur Rahman took the chance to rise to stardom, playing a match-winning innings of 96 in the third match.
‘Mashrafee [bin Murtaza] was constantly saying throughout the series that the seniors have to perform in order to remain with the side,’ Mushfiq said after the match.
‘The juniors are knocking at the door with consistent performances, so it is our duty to perform and stay with the side. It is healthy competition.’
Mushfiq felt it was mission accomplished for
Bangladesh after they satisfied their fans with another ‘Banglawash,’ a word that he said was in his mind from the beginning of the series.
‘Before the series got underway all I heard was ‘Banglawash, Banglawash’,’ said Mushfiq. ‘Everyone kept saying that. We were in a good environment and we were hopeful so it obviously feels good to win the series 3-0.’
Bangladesh now have a chance to emulate their previous success in terms of the number of victories if they can win the only Twenty20 match and make it 4-0.
‘New Zealand are a very good Twenty20 side, so it will be very tough,’ said a confident Mushfiq. ‘[But] we have developed a winning and positive mentality. If we can sustain it, it will augur a bright future for us.’
SCORECARD
New Zealand innings
Devcich c Razzak b
Mahmudullah 46
Latham c Mushfiq b Rubel 43
Elliot c Sohag b Razzak 3
Taylor not out 107
Munro c Mushfiq b
Mahmudullah 85
Anderson c Ziaur b Sohag 1
Ronchi not out 13
Extras (lb3, w6) 9
Total (five wickets; 50 overs) 307
Fall of wickets: 1-66 (Devcich), 2-82 (Elliot), 3-101 (Latham), 4-231 ( Munro) 5-232( Anderson)
Bowling
Mashrafee 8 0 73 0
Rubel 6 0 38 1
Sohag 10 0 67 1
Razzak 9 0 57 1
Nasir 10 1 33 0
Mahmudullah 7 0 36 2
Bangladesh innings
Shamsur c Ronchi b Anderson 96
Ziaur c Milne b McClenaghan 22
Mominul c & b Devcich 32
Mushfiq c Taylor b McCullum 2
Naeem run out 63
Nasir not out 44
Mahmudullah c Ronchi b McClenaghan 16
Sohag not out 11
Extras (b4, lb3, w9, nb7) 23
Total (six wickets, 49.2 overs) 309
Fall of wickets: 1-61 (Ziaur) 2-126 (Mominul), 3-129 (Mushfiq) 4-204 (Shamsur), 5-254 (Naeem), 6-289 ( Mahmudullah)
Bowling
Millis 8 1 55 0
Milne 7 0 42 0
McClenaghan 9.2 0 69 2
Anderson 10 0 56 1
McCullum 8 0 44 1
Devcich 7 0 36 1
Result: Bangladesh won by four wickets, take series 3-0
Toss: Bangladesh
Man of the match: Shamsur Rahman (BNG)
Man of the series: Mushfiqur Rahim (BNG)
-With New Age input
