Thursday 26 / December / 2024
Dharamshala: After clinching their ICC Men's World Cup opening clash against Afghanistan, Bangladesh captain Shakib al Hasan expressed confidence in the team's bowling arsenal.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz's all-around show and Bangladesh's exceptional performances in all three helped them defeat Afghanistan. Bangladesh won by six wickets at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Saturday.
"I am happy to contribute with my bowling. As I said, all our five bowlers chipped in, they contributed, spinners played a bigger role but it's a long tournament, I am sure fast bowlers will contribute more," Shakib said in the post-match presentation.
"We didn't get the start we wanted, everyone believed once we got a wicket, we could get more (quickly). It wasn't easy but I am very happy with the way we bowled," the Bangladesh captain added.
The pair of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan tied Afghanistan in knots to set up victory. The pair had combined figures of 6/55 in 17 overs, removing four of the Afghanistan top five and playing a huge part in restricting the first innings total to 156 all out.
"We have been training really hard in the last few days and we didn't want to make any excuse that the ground isn't ideal and we talked about that in the dressing room (that we have to adjust and play well despite the conditions). Mehidy, and Shanto...these are our inform players; they are always confident and want to do well for the team," Shakib stated.
In the match, Mehidy performed with both bat and ball as he bagged three wickets conceding just 25 runs while he played a knock of 57 runs of 73 balls.
Bangladesh bowled out Afghanistan for 156. They chased the target in about 35 overs.
