"Really proud of the way the boys played this match": Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto
Dec 23, 2023
Napier [New Zealand], December 23 : Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said that he was proud of his side for the way they played the match.
Bangladesh clinched a consolation win against New Zealand in the third ODI match at McLean Park in Napier on Saturday.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Najmul said that earlier his side believed that they could win the series but they could not finish well earlier that's why they failed to win the first two matches.
Talking about his knock in the second inning, the skipper said that he just focused on his batting process.
While concluding, Shanto said that the win would give his boys confidence in the upcoming series.
"Really proud of the way the boys played this match. Before we started this series, we believed we could win this series. Last couple of matches, we played well but we couldn't finish, but the boys played some good cricket and we got the right result today. The bowlers weren't looking for the wicket, they bowled in the good areas for a long period of time and I am really proud of the way they bowled today. I didn't try to smash, I just played my game and focused on my batting process. This match will give us a lot of confidence. But T20 is a different format, we have to plan for that. Hopefully, boys can play good cricket in the T20s as well," Najmul said.
Recapping the match, Bangladesh's decision to bowl first after winning the toss in Napier worked for them. The Bengal Tigers put up a stupendous bowling performance and ended New Zealand's inning by the 32nd over.
Kiwi opener Will Young (26 runs from 43 balls) and skipper Tom Latham (21 runs from 34 balls) were the only standout batters for the home side. Young and Latham's effort led the Kiwis to 98/10.
The visitors dominated the game from the very first over of the match. Three Bangladesh bowlers bagged three-wicket hauls in Napier - Shoriful Islam, Tanzim, and Soumya Sarkar.
In the run chase of 99 runs, last match's top performer Soumya Sarkar (4 runs from 16 balls) retired hurt after sustaining an injury. However, skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51 runs from 42 balls) did not his absence be felt and ended the match by the start of the 16th over.
Tanzim gave away only 14 runs in his seven-over spell and was named the 'Player of the Match'. The top run scorer of the series Will Young (220 runs from 3 innings) was named the 'Player of the Series'.
