These Tough Wins Will Really Give Us A Big Boost – Mashrafe Mortaza After Winning The Tri-Series Final
May 29, 2019 at 7:17 PM
After winning the ODI tri-series final in Ireland, Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza feels that it will give them confidence ahead of the upcoming Cricket World Cup.
On last Friday (17th May), Bangladesh faced Windies in the ODI tri-series final in Ireland at The Village (Malahide, Dublin). In that rain-interrupted match, Bangladesh claimed their first tournament final victory in international cricket.
Before that match, Bangladesh played six tournament finals (four in ODIs and two in T20Is) in international cricket and lost all those matches.
In their latest final, Windies managed to score 152/1 in 24 overs in the rain-interrupted first innings. According to the DLS method, Bangladesh got the challenging revised target of 210 runs in 24 overs.
Bangladesh opener Soumya Sarkar‘s brilliant 66 runs and the no.7 batsman Mosaddek Hossain’s record half-century secured the historic victory for the Bangladesh national cricket team. The Asian side chased down that target in 22.5 overs after losing five wickets.
After winning that match, Mashrafe Mortaza is hopeful about their great future in international cricket.
He said, “Yes, obviously, it is a great feeling. Hopefully, it is just the start, and we will continue [in this manner in the future]. It’s been a long time we didn’t win [in finals], but eventually, we won it on the seventh time.”
The World Cup will be really challenging for us – Mashrafe Mortaza
The 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will begin on 30th May, and it will run until 14th July. Bangladesh and other top nine teams are ready to participate in this competition.
Mortaza feels that their latest tournament final victory will give them a big boost. He has also claimed that they are ready to chase or set the big totals in the upcoming World cup.
Mortaza added, “The World Cup will be really challenging for us. These tough wins will really give us a big boost and we will be confident chasing or putting up big totals.”
It feels good to perform and make contribution in the final – Mosaddek Hossain
Meanwhile, Mosaddek Hossain won the Player of the Match award in that final match for playing a brilliant innings of unbeaten 52 runs off just 24 balls with the help of two fours and five sixes.
In the second innings of that match, Bangladesh got a good start, thanks to the opener Soumya Sarkar. Sarkar scored 66 runs off 41 balls in that innings. However, after Sarkar’s dismissal, Bangladesh came under pressure due to losing their wickets regularly.
At the late moment, Hossain slammed the 20-ball half-century that secured Bangladesh’s victory. It is the fastest ODI half-century by a Bangladesh batsman. The previous joint record was 21-ball half-century by Mohammad Ashraful and Abdur Razzaq.
The 23-year-old Hossain is hopeful to continue this form in the forthcoming Cricket World Cup.
He said, “We are going into the World Cup with a good amount of confidence, and hopefully it will help us perform well in the tournament. In England, the wicket will be much better, and if I get a chance to bat down the order and play these kind of innings, then certainly it will be good for us.”
Hossain also revealed their mindset to chase that challenging target in that ODI tri-series final.
He added, “During the break, the seniors said that the way we batted throughout the tournament, if we can stay till the end, we can win the game. Naturally, it feels good to perform and make contribution in the final. But what is more important is that we are well prepared for the World Cup.”
Bangladesh will begin their upcoming Cricket World Cup journey on 2nd June. On that day, Bangladesh will face South Africa at The Oval (London).