DAMBULLA: Bangladesh’s chances of winning their first-ever ODI series against Sri Lanka has been boosted by a call from the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the cricket team.
“The Prime Minister had called, we were talking to her. After the Test win, I couldn’t talk to her; she spoke to Shakib (Al Hasan) and Mushfiqur (Rahim). After we had won today, she called the board president and many of us also got to speak to her. She congratulated all of us; it’s a great feeling when the country’s Prime Minister wishes you well,” said man of the match Tamim Iqbal after scoring a quality century that fashioned Bangladesh’s 90-run win in the first ODI here on Saturday.
“Winning the series is very important. We are in a position to win it. It will be a huge achievement to beat Sri Lanka in their backyard. It won’t be easy, and we have to work harder in the next match,” he said.
It was Tamim’s well-paced knock of 127 of 142 balls that laid the foundation and saw Bangladesh post their first 300-plus total against Sri Lanka and take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
“Getting the hundred, and winning the game is the best feeling you can ever get,” said Tamim. “All centuries are equal to me. It is all special. I was batting in a difficult situation because of the heat. Whenever my hundred contributes to a win, it becomes a special one.
“There was a time when I was struggling a little bit in the 40s. If I had got out during that period, we wouldn’t have put up such a big score. You must have seen Mashrafe (Mortaza) bhai coming outside and telling me to play long. Not everything will go according to your plan when you’re playing a long innings. You go through a difficult patch but you overcome it,” he said.
Tamim who has been around for long (since 2007) to see the gradual rise of Bangladesh cricket said, “We struggled when we started playing international cricket, and then there was a time when we wanted to be a strong side at home. Now we are slowly progressing in overseas conditions as well. It is a great way to start an ODI series, but there are still two more games to go. We need to be at our best to beat them. They are a quality side.
“We did outstandingly today in the field. Mashrafe bhai’s fielding effort was fantastic. We probably won’t win games all the time but this attitude will make things easier. This new attitude of being involved in everything and supporting each other will take us a long way.
“We have some talented youngsters with some experienced cricketers. The best feeling is when the team is winning. We also know that there will be a time when things won’t go our way. We have to remember our good times and when the time comes, we will handle it better.
“In the last few matches, we have played good cricket but it didn’t show in the results. But it is more pleasing to win more matches. Our progress is shown in the small things that we are doing properly,” said Tamim.
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