Ahead of the first Test against Pakistan, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain said that records could be broken when it was said to him that his team never beat Pakistan in Tests. They had lost 12 matches and drawn one so far. On Sunday at Rawalpindi, Bangladesh made history as they defeated the hosts by 10 wickets to break the shackle as well.
“It’s very important since we don’t win many matches outside home,” Najmul said. “I think we won in New Zealand and after that we won here. This year, we made World Test Championship plans on how we can win matches outside or at least draw them. “That has brought good results and hopefully through this win the players and the fans will have more confidence. So hope is to play better cricket going forward,” he said.
“It’s an amazing feeling and when we came here in the morning we believed and we knew that we can win this match because we were 94 runs ahead and the pitch looked difficult especially [batting] against spinners while there was variable bounce for seamers,” he added. “We believed that if we can bowl in the right areas we can beat them and that’s what happened.”
However, Najmul further added that their pace unit evolved a lot in recent years and along with experienced players like Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedy Hasan they can challenge any team now as well.
“As you all know, Shakib and Miraz are very experienced and used the conditions very well. So both of them along with the seamers bowled very well. I don’t think so ( when asked if Pakistan took them lightly). As we know, their strength is pace bowling and over the last couple of years our pacers and spinners have been doing well. We bowled well but our batters batted really well in these hot conditions especially how the openers batted in the first 12 overs. Credit goes to all the batters especially how the openers handled the new ball against these quality bowlers. It’s a team effort and the bowling after that was excellent,” he further added.
However, Najmul Hossain again added that the performance of Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored a brilliant 191 to lay the platform for the historic win wasn’t surprising at all.
“We all know how experienced Mushy is and he does all the right things every day,” he observed. “He did his job and we expect him to do something like this every match. Next match is very important. We really enjoyed this match and we have to prepare ourselves for the next game and how we can win it. We all believe we can win the next game but it’s a process and we need to think about how we can go from session to session. It’s important to stay calm and think about every session.”
However, Najmul said that the preparation back home played an important role in the historic win as well. Bangladesh had a long preparation camp before the series beginning on 25 May while the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also opted to send six Test cricketers to Bangladesh A squad for the first four-day game of the two-match series against Pakistan Shaheens as well.
“Really special moment for us and we are really happy because of the way everyone showed their character in these hot conditions. The way we practiced over the last 15 days, did all the right things off the field is why we got the results,” Najmul said. “The players, who were on a break before the Tests, were doing their preparations back at home. That helped us in these conditions.”
Meanwhile, Najmul Hossain dedicated the win to the people who lost their lives in the recent student protest that brought down a change in the government as well.
“The win is dedicated to those who lost their lives during the anti-discrimination protest from among the students and public,” he concluded. “Lots of prayers from the team for them. Their families have gone through a very tough time and hope through this victory a little smile is brought to their faces.”
