"He has been playing very well" - Shakib Al Hasan on Mehidy Hasan

Bangladesh registered a 6-wicket win over Afghanistan in the third match of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl first. Put into bat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 47 whereas others failed to contribute much and they managed to put up a below-par total of 156 before getting all out for 37.2 overs.

While chasing, Bangladesh lost two quick wickets. However, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (57) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (59*) steadied the ship and eventually guided the team to the finish line.

Who said what after the match?

Shakib Al Hasan: “Very happy with the way we played. We believed if we got a wicket, we could come back in. Wasn’t easy for few players, but happy with the way we batted and bowled. We have been practising here. We need to adapt to these things (tough outfields) if we want to win. We got three, four fast bowlers, they can change any game and I hope they will bowl well in the upcoming games, it’s a long tournament. He (Mehidy) has been playing very well. Shanto is another one in the dressing room, they always want to perform well for the team.”

Hashmatullah Shahidi: “We had a good start, but we had bad shot selections after that. I think we fought well, but the score wasn’t good enough. Looking forward to the next game. Need to learn from our mistakes, need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who won the Player of the Match: “It’s a great moment for me, I’ve done a lot of hard work in the past. Credit to the team management because they believed in me. I was a bit cautious, the captain told me to bowl in the right areas. He told me to be consistent and to focus on my own performance so credit to the captain. I took it ball by ball, didn’t look at the runs. Wicket was turning a bit, I just tried to play straight. I’ve always batted at no.8 so a great moment for me to bat at the top of the order. They tried me at the top of the order in the last few matches and it’s a great moment for me.”