Bangladesh's first T20I win over India in Delhi on Sunday (November 3) meant a lot to veteran Mushfiqur Rahim, who played an unbeaten 60-run knock in his team's seven-wicket heist against the mighty hosts.
The visitors restricted India to a modest total of 148/6 before eventually scaling those down in the final over of the run-chase.
"When we were playing in front of a huge crowd, and when the team needs it, nothing like playing an innings like that. Nothing like beating India in India, so this means a lot to me," said "Player-of-the-Match" Rahim at the post-match presentation ceremony.
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"Soumya and I had a chat, and we thought of dragging the game deep, and any of the quicks could have been targeted for 15-20 in an over because the spinners got a lot of assistance so it was hard to hit them."
With the equation getting tougher for Bangladesh towards the end, Mushfiqur was dropped on the leg-side boundary by Krunal Pandya. He later struck Khaleel Ahmed for four successive fours and allowed the Tigers to comfortably reach home.
Youngster Mohammad Naim (26) and Soumya Sarkar (39) also contributed with the bat earlier on.
"Naim also played really well at the start. I'm trying my best to evolve as a cricketer, and I will try to perform in each and every game for Bangladesh," Mushfiqur said.
Skipper Mahmudullah Riad was delighted over the outcome and applauded his troops for pulling off an inspirational performance in the absence of mainstays Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan.
"I think it was all based on how we started. The bowlers did a great job, everyone chipped in. I think we fielded really well and that gave us momentum going into our batting," he said.
"Captaincy is made easy because of the boys who have performed really well. I know the Fizz is one of our key bowlers but I think the other bowlers were needed according to the conditions."
"Mushy was really good and Soumya had a good partnership with him. I think Naim deserves a mention as well. He played really well on debut," Mahmudullah concluded.
The second T20I of the three-match series will be played in Rajkot on November 7.
(Inputs from CricketNext)
