‘We want to emerge as a better unit’      

Bangladesh's maiden T20I win over England came as a breath of fresh air as the hosts displayed a fearless attitude to clinch a convincing six-wicket win over the visitors to lead the three-match series 1-0 in Chattogram on Thursday.

There has always been a fear of failure in the Tigers' camp in the past when it came to adapting to pitch and conditions, but things looked totally different when the hosts showed some fine intent against England in the series opener at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

The positive intent allowed the likes of Rony Talukdar, who made a comeback to the side after almost eight years, to express himself as an opener and lay a solid platform as Bangladesh were up for a tricky chase after restricting England to 156 for six.

Debutant Towhid Hridoy also looked confident and it never looked like the young right-hander was playing his first international match, and that too against the world champions, while Najmul Hossain Shanto continued to impress with yet another fifty.

Earlier it was another young pacer Hasan Mahmud who shone bright with the ball despite a shaky start as the right-arm seamer brought Bangladesh back in the game, courtesy of some fine death-over bowling.

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan also remained instrumental both with bat and ball in the first T20I. He addressed the importance of emerging as a better unit regardless of the conditions.

"We don't want to think about the wicket or the condition. We want to emerge as a better team and are willing to adapt and adjust to any condition. The good teams do that," Shakib told the media after the game on Thursday during a shop opening event in Chattogram.

There had been instances in the past where the younger players, despite showing great potential, were unable to keep their focus. Shakib also emphasised on the area and informed them that it will be important for them to carry on the momentum from here on.

"The start was good but it's important for us to continue this for the future and we have to work accordingly. We will try to work on it and look to play better cricket," he said, while he also praised Rony after the cricketer capitalized on the opportunity upon his return following a long gap. Shakib said that it's better for the players to express themselves and grab the opportunities.