Tamim Iqbal looked a relieved man yesterday. Despite having missed out on what could have been a historic century for the player, the good news was that the batsman had finally hit form. A lot can change over the next few days if Tamim can hold on to his composure against England on March 9.

There was plenty of pressure on the player. After the first two matches, where he struggled against both Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, hate campaigns began against the player. Ironic memes of Tamim, relating him to the products he markets, spread like wildfire.

Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza though stood by the left-hander. He revealed yesterday that he didn't mind even if the opener had scored 20 runs off 60 balls, for there was no question regarding Tamim's ability.

"It's obvious that people will criticise if I fail to perform and as a professional cricketer I have to accept it but I would request everybody to be a little patient with me. Even I want to play good cricket," an emotional Tamim said at the post-match press conference yesterday.

"I know that hundreds cannot be scored at will. But I believe that if I can follow the right process and do the right things in the middle, it will be possible for me to play good cricket and give the people of the nation some good cricket to watch," he added.

Tamim thanked his skipper for having faith in him.

"Mashrafe bhai always encouraged me. He kept telling me that if I take time and score 70 or 80 runs we can win the match. Despite all the criticism, I was in a good frame of mind because of my skipper and the positive support from my teammates," explained the dashing opener.

Tamim followed a cautious approach during the chase. He preferred taking singles and doubles rather than going hard at all the bowlers.

"We had a team meeting before we came out to bat. Coach said that we should bat like we're batting first and not think about the total. We chased down similar kind of scores two or three years back against Zimbabwe and we batted in a similar way.

"So rather than thinking about the scoreboard, we were just enjoying the wicket. The wicket was fantastic and the outfield was really quick. So we didn't have to do too much because if we were timing the ball well, then the ball was flying. So that made it easy for us."