Mushfiqur Rahim, an experienced campaigner from Bangladesh, believes that leadership responsibilities have brought out the best in Najmul Hossain.
Najmul, who was recently named captain across formats, led Bangladesh to a stunning century and a 1-0 lead in the present three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.
“Shanto thoroughly deserved the century, and he was excellent. It was a one-man show tonight. I think leadership brings out the best in some individuals. Shanto is definitely one of them,” Mushfiqur told reporters after the game.
“He really enjoys the captaincy. Shanto is the sort of guy who has the mentality to take responsibility as a challenge. I knew that he would score runs at the highest level.”
Mushfiqur lauded the youthful leader for rising to the occasion when Bangladesh trailed 23–3.
“He batted very well today. He plays more fluently now. He can be more dominating. He used to get 50s or 60s after getting a good start, but now he is playing long innings. The way he took a single to mid-on so easily just after getting that hundred showed that he was calm and thoughtful towards the team. We kept telling each other that we should keep getting the next 20 or 30 runs, so that they don’t get a sniff in vital moments,” Mushfiqur said.
“Atmosphere is very important. We don’t worry about the outcome. We try to keep our processes intact. We don’t expect all seven batters to get centuries every day, but as long as he was sticking to his strengths and practice routines, it was just a matter of time.
“We had a good partnership, but the real work was done by (Mahmudullah) Riyad bhai and Shanto. The ball was new so they could swing the ball. The dew hadn’t taken full effect. We lost early wickets too. Shanto and Riyad bhai ensured we were always ahead of the required run rate because of their partnership. They made life easy for me.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan batsman Janith Liyanage believes that dew played a significant role in the series opener since their bowlers were unable to handle the ball effectively.
“We thought we had a really good chance of winning the game but when the dew came into play, it was really hard for the bowlers to grip the ball. But they [Bangladesh] batted really well,” said Liyanage.
“We never expected there to be so much dew,” Liyanage further said, explaining why his team batted first.
“We got a really good start. Our opening batsmen played really well. But after that Bangladesh took three quick wickets. Then we had to rebuild. With the start we got, we could have scored 300 runs today. We were a bit disappointed about that.”
