India vs Bangladesh: How ‘Mad’ Mehidy and friend Mustafizur guided Bangla to 1-wicket win

After
it
appeared
that
there
was
no
hope
left,
Bangladesh
fought
their
way
back
into
the
game
to
produce
a
memorable
victory
and
take
a
1-0
lead
in
the
ODI
series.

The
architect
of
the
victory,
Player
of
the
Match,
Mehidy
Hasan,
however,
asserted
that
he
believed
that
he
could
win
it
for
Bangladesh
despite
the
situation
they
were
in.

“Maybe
people
will
call
me
pagol
(mad)
but
I
had
the
honest
belief
that
we
could
win.
I
only
focused
on
winning
the
game.
I
kept
telling
myself
that
I
can
do
this.
I
thought
I’d
score
15
runs
with
Ebadot,
20
runs
with
Hasan
Mahmud
and
the
remaining
15-20
runs
with
Mustafiz.

“But
two
quick
wickets
meant
that
it
was
a
do-or-die
situation
with
the
last
wicket
remaining.
I
had
to
take
calculated
risks.
Mustafiz’s
words
really
stayed
with
me.
It
gave
me
more
belief,”
said
Mehidy.

He
revealed
that
the
words
of
his
batting
partner,
No
11
Mustafizur,
gave
him
confidence.
“Mustafizur
told
me,
“You
don’t
worry
about
me.
I
will
stop
the
ball
at
my
end.
I
will
take
balls
on
the
body,
but
I
won’t
get
out,”
he
said.

“If
I
thought
that
we
would
lose
or
we
won’t
be
able
to
get
the
remaining
runs,
it
wouldn’t
have
worked
out
like
this.
It
was
definitely
a
do-or-die
situation.
There
was
no
problem
getting
out
trying
to
hit
out.
When
we
needed
50
runs,
I
took
the
chances.
It
came
off,”
Mehidy
said.

Mehidy
slammed
Kuldeep
Sen
for
two
sixes
in
an
over
and
thereafter
hammered
Deepak
Chahar
for
three
fours
in
the
44th
over.
It
reduced
the
runs
remaining
to
14,
and
that’s
when
it
got
serious.

“If
I
thought
that
we
would
lose
or
we
won’t
be
able
to
get
the
remaining
runs,
it
wouldn’t
have
worked
out
like
this.
It
was
definitely
a
do-or-die
situation.
There
was
no
problem
to
get
out
trying
to
hit
out.

“When
we
needed
50
runs,
I
took
the
chances.
It
came
off.
But
when
we
needed
14
or
10
runs,
then
I
got
really
excited.

“We
have
lost
a
lot
of
close
matches,
but
Mustafiz
kept
giving
me
encouragement.
He
told
me,
‘don’t
hurry,
don’t
try
to
hit
a
six.
You
bat
along
the
ground,
we
will
get
the
runs’.
I
was
very
clear
with
my
game
plan.
I
knew
exactly
what
I
wanted
to
do.
I
think
that
helped
out
also,”
Mehidy
said.

Mehidy
was
helped
by
Mustafizur’s
assured
posture
at
the
other
end,
where
he
even
launched
Bangladesh’s
first
boundary
since
the
23rd
over
with
a
four
through
the
covers.

“Mustafiz
is
my
good
friend.
He
supported
me
a
lot.
One
thing
that
stood
out
was
his
confidence,”
Mehidy
said.

“He
kept
telling
me
not
to
worry
about
him.
A
batter
would
always
worry
about
the
tailender.
If
he
gets
out,
it’s
all
over.
But
his
approach
allowed
me
to
shape
my
game
plan.
Who
to
attack,
when
to
attack.

“I
didn’t
go
after
every
ball.
I
did
sky
a
couple,
but
they
couldn’t
take
the
chances.
You
are
bound
to
get
out
if
you
are
trying
to
hit
every
ball.
Calculative
risk
helped
out,”
he
further
added.

With
the
help
of
his
all-round
performance,
Miraz
has
helped
Bangladesh
take
a
1-0
lead
in
the
three-match
ODI
series
putting
Rohit
Sharma-led
side
in
a
spot
of
bother
from
where
they
will
have
to
win
both
their
upcoming
games
to
win
the
series.