Adelaide: Bangladesh fans came in their thousands to cheer for their team against England at the Adelaide Oval here on Monday — and they were rewarded with a stupendous showing from their team as they reached the World Cup quarter-finals with a 15-run victory.
Mohammad Mahmudullah was the hero with the first ever century by a Bangladesh batsman in a World Cup match.
Afterwards he said: “I think it’s a great ovation for us and a great win for us. I’m really happy for the boys, the way they fought in the middle. And thanks to the bowlers, how they bowled, especially Rubel Hossain.”
Answering a query from Gulf News as to what went through his mind during the course of his innings, Mahmudullah said: “To be honest I didn’t think too much. I was having a good time in the middle and I just wanted to bat.
“I didn’t think too much and just created a partnership with Soumya [Sarkar] and Mushy [Mushifqur Rahim]. Everything went well.”
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza hailed the victory as a momentous occasion. “This win is significant for us. Back home people were expecting that we could go through, but we know how difficult it would be in Australia because normally we never play on those kind of pitches, like Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide,” he said.
“So it was very difficult, but the boys have been very confident. They have been working hard. I think it’s really helpful for us the way they are working hard.”
Mortaza also used the occasion to hit out at the critics who had belittled his team’s pace attack.
“I’m sorry to say people were talking rubbish about our pace bowling, though we knew our capabilities. I hope at least now people start to give some respect to our quicks. They have shown the world how good they are.
“Hopefully this will bring their confidence up and show again and again in this sort of tournament. Please show some respect to our pacers.”
Picking out Rubel for special praise, he said: “Hossain has been fantastic the last one-and-a-half years. The way he’s bowling, it’s nice to see from mid-on or mid-off.
“He’s swinging the ball, he’s bowling fast and I’m really happy that he took all the pressure on his shoulder and delivered from the start. He was under tremendous pressure before coming into this World Cup. He put the pressure outside and showed his performance. Hopefully he will continue.”
Mortaza concluded by announcing that this victory could be a stepping stone for better times for Bangladesh.
“I think our problem was the lack of consistency, but in this World Cup, two out of five matches we have been very consistent. Hopefully it will keep going for the next few matches. The boys are really happy and we hope that is one of the best runs for us and Bangladesh cricket will move on from here.”
Mortaza added: “We never thought that such a crowd would come and support us. It was amazing to see that people from all over the world, even though they do not stay in Australia, come from back home and other places to support us. It was amazing.”
