Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was happy to break the defeat jinx when it mattered most.
The Tigers were at the receiving end following their 2-1 series defeat to associate nation USA, just ahead of the T20 World Cup. And then they surrendered meekly to India in the only official practice game they could play.
Overall the preparation looked worst and hardly anyone back in the country put a bet on them.
But Najmul Hossain Shanto and company turned the things around impeccably, edging Sri Lanka past by two wickets in a nervy finish which now raised their chance to move to the Super 8.
With Sri Lanka losing two consecutive matches, Bangladesh in fact are in with a good chance to seal the next round.
Even though there is still some discomfort due to the yet another fragile batting show, Shanto said he is happy to secure two points for the time being.
“It’s a victory that gave us confidence after some defeats. Whatever the margin is, I am happy to get two points and start the tournament with victory,” Shanto said after the match.
“I have faith on the batters. You can’t expect that all batters will do well simultaneously.”
Shanto further said they were able to put in a team performance that is needed to thrive in a big tournament like T20 World Cup.
“The body language was great, we gave our 120 percent. Last 10-15 days we have been making plans and all the fielders are doing their job. I think they bowled really well, but on a wicket like this we should have won this easily,” he said.
“It’s very important for Liton, he’s been struggling a bit but he showed his skill today. I think he batted really well. Hridoy was really courageous, the way he played that over really helped us.”
Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga said their dismal batting was key in the defeat.
“Our batters batted really well in the first 8-10 overs. After that in the middle overs I think we batted badly. We all know our bowling attack is our strength. Especially if batters put up 150-160, our bowling attack can win games,” Hasaranga said.
“Last two games the batters didn’t do the job. It’s tough. Now we’ve lost the first two matches. We bowled with four main bowlers. I think our four genuine bowlers did their job but unfortunately we had to make four overs with our allrounders.”
