'International, domestic are same for me'

Sabbir Rahman only made his international debut in the Zimbabwe series towards the end of last year but he can whack the ball like he has been playing for ages. The manner in which he hammered the experienced Wahab Riaz for a series of boundaries at Mirpur yesterday defied belief. He has displayed aggression in domestic cricket, but to confidently be able to apply himself at the international level so early in his career is an aspect that has surprised many.

"I personally don't think about the difference between domestic and international. I don't have that thought in my mind. So that's why it went well," said Sabbir at the post-match press conference yesterday. "I just tried to stay positive and I think I generally play well when I am in that frame of mind," added the youngster.

When Sabbir arrived at the crease, Bangladesh had lost three quick wickets and were under pressure. The middle order batsman claimed that there weren't any plans in his mind at that point in time. "When I was going to the crease, Mushfiqur bhai, who had just got out, told me that the wicket was good and that runs could be scored if I stayed. With those words he gave me a lot of confidence.

"There was no plan as such. We just tried to stay positive and that worked," explained Sabbir.

Apart from Sabbir and Shakib Al Hasan's half-centuries, debutant Mustafizur Rahman made an impact yesterday. His two-wicket haul suppressed the visitors and put them under pressure.

"I always believed that cricket is actually a bowler's game. If your bowlers do well, everything becomes easy. And that's why I wouldn't have been surprised if Mustafizur got the player-of-the-match award today. His bowling was outstanding. It was amazing to see his performance," said skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.

According to Mashrafe, winning the T20I was important because it showed that the hosts had not just beaten a second-string side in the ODIs. "Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shehzad, these are big players. Had we not won the T20I, people would have said that they didn't have the best side. So from that aspect we are a bit relaxed. I hope the players feel better now," said Mashrafe.

Despite having comfortably won the match yesterday, the skipper believed there is room for improvement. "You can't judge a team's performance based on one match. In the World Cup we had lost to Hong Kong. So I think there are several areas where we can still improve our game," said Mashrafe.