'Mushy's aggression showed the way'

The Barisal Bulls did end up winning yesterday but there was a point in the game when, with Sabbir Rahman smacking boundaries almost at will, a win for Barisal seemed highly unlikely.

Shahriar Nafees, who had scored a crucial 44-ball 63 to support Mushfiqur Rahim's 52-ball 81 in the first innings, admitted that Barisal were nervous when Sabbir was at the crease.

 “When Sabbir was batting we thought we should have scored 220 or 230 on this wicket. But despite that we knew that we were just one wicket away from a comeback,” explained Nafees.

“This wicket that we played on seemed easy but it wasn't. It was always going to be difficult for a new batsman. Thank God we managed to reach there at the end. Credit to our players for believing in themselves and playing confidently,” said Nafees.

Nafees and Mushfiqur put on a 112-run stand for the third wicket and helped revive Barisal from a precarious 21 for two. After 10 overs they were struggling at 62 for two and it seemed like they would not be able to post a score past 150.

However, both Mushfiqur and Nafees upped the tempo after that and Barisal hammered 130 runs in the last 10 overs.

It was the highest total of the tournament and yet Mushfiqur asked his players not to be complacent. It was almost as though the Test skipper had predicted Sabbir would play a special knock.

“At the break, Mushfiq repeatedly told us one thing. There are times when you can defend 130 easily and then there are times when even 190 is not enough. So there is no chance to take this lightly. He asked us to fight till the last ball,” informed Nafees.

In fact, Mushfiqur seemed to be the most charged up Barisal player on the field yesterday. After smacking Kesrick Williams for a six over midwicket in the 18th over, he showed the bowler the direction that the ball went towards.

“Mushfiqur is a fighting cricketer and he always wants to win and tries to do well. The aggression that he showed on the field in the end led the team to a good win,” Nafees added.