Bangla-desh skipper Sakib al Hasan hopes to carry their match-winning form to the World Cup next year after leading his side to series victory against New Zealand on Thursday.
Sakib turned in a brilliant all-round performance as Bangladesh won the third one-day international by nine runs, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. The win now gave them a realistic hope for a clean sweep victory over a sides ranked far above them.
‘Even in the last World Cup we won a couple of matches that helped us in putting on a good show and this time if we play well and win against the Zimbabwe then certainly the reflection will be there again,’ Sakib told reporters at the post-match press conference
‘Still I would not say we have got ourselves promoted to the league of big teams, but in our home condition we are capable of beating anyone and more so if the team comes from outside Asia,’ said the proud skipper.
Sakib, who clobbered 106 off 113 balls before claiming 3-54 to win the man-of-the-match award, thanked all his team-mates for taking up the responsibility at times when he was unable to do enough to motivate them due to physical constraints.
Batting in the fierce heat took a lot of toll on him and the all-rounder appeared tired at the fag end of his match-winning innings and during the fielding and someone else took the role of cheering the players.
‘I am really happy with the collective team effort. I was speaking very few words on the field but others like Shuvo Bhai [Sohrawardi] Suhas [Shafiul Islam] and Mushfique compensated, something I have not experienced earlier,’ he said.
‘Physically it was a very tough match as I did not feel this kind of heat before, especially when I was batting. And only God knows how I finished 50 overs on the field. At times even I did not know what I was doing,’ Sakib said.
‘I am happy that we could finish off the match in style. I was thinking anytime I would have a cramp or sustain an injury. In that sense I think it was an achievement on my part to stay on the field till the very end,’ he added.
Sakib said he wanted to lead the side by example which was evident in his decision not to raise his bat when he reached half-century. He also celebrated very little after completing his century, which was a record by its own merit.
The century was his fifth in one-day internationals, a feat no other Bangladeshi batsman has ever achieved. He previously held the record with Shahriar Nafees with four centuries. Unlike Sakib, Shahriar made all of his centuries against Zimbabwe.
‘I knew when I crossed my fifty but I did not raise the bat as I told the other day we need to transform our fifties into a big score. Jamie [Siddons] also said “you need not raise the bat after completing your fifty if you don’t wish to” and I also felt the same,’ he said.
At the end Sakib was happy with his batting, but the bowling that made him so lethal an all-rounder left him hardly satisfied.
‘I am pleased with my batting but still I am not satisfied with my bowling,’ said Sakib
‘After I was hit for a four in the first ball, I was a bit nervous and I was also having a bit of cramp, but I was confident that if I can ball in the right place then I can make it,’ Sakib told of the 49th over that appeared decisive.
Sakib rated the series win ahead of the one that Bangladesh won against the West Indies last year.
‘I consider this series as more satisfying than the one against the West Indies as we played competitive cricket. And after this kind of performance when you win a series it is much more pleasing,’ he said.
