A tale of two quicks

On the back of his wholehearted bowling (4-97) the 23-year-old dubbed as Narail Express came up with his best as a batsman to wake the Tigers from a nightmare.

“What I can only say is that he was simply fantastic, fantastic. But you all know that he has the quality to deliver for the team in such a way. Because of him and Shahadat we survived the day. Mashrafe just gave a very strong indication today that he is shaping brilliantly as an all-rounder,” said an excited Bashar, who let his team down by making a second-ball duck.

Mashrafe however was not ready to consider himself as an all-rounder although many rated his 92-ball 79 highly, especially the way he kept cool and smashed bad balls to the ropes.

“My main duty is to bowl well. I think there is lot of scope to improve my bowling. But I also always try to give my best also in the other departments. I thought today that I will not let go without a fight. I like to take challenges and I am happy that I could do something for my team,” said Mashrafe in a press meet.

He praised his partner Shahadat Hossain who helped make it possible.

“I believe in my partner and I must say Rajib (Shahadat) played brilliantly. If I didn’t get the support from him then it would not be possible,” said the courageous cricketer, who along with Shahadat achieved a highest nine-wicket Bangladesh partnership during the 77-run stand.
Mashrafe also admitted that that the possibility of a half-century was in his mind.

The job seemed impossible as Bangladesh lost eight wickets for 149 runs, still 39 runs behind to force India to bat again.

But the two new ball partners' valiant effort not only made it possible but also gave the home team a lifeline.

“Dav (Whatmore) told me that I have to make a fifty to save the team which worked as a motivation for me,” he added.

“I don’t think I got an extra motivation against India because always try to give hundred percent against any opponents. I just try to play my natural game,” said Mashrafe, who claimed a four-wicket haul against India to script a glorious five-wicket victory in the World Cup in West Indies.
“There was a chance for me to make my first hundred but Shahadat dismissal ended it,” he added.

Shahadat, meanwhile, told he loves to stare at the batsman, no matter whether the man under the helmet is Sachin Tendulkar or Ricky Ponting.

The 20-year old was asked the question by an Indian journalist, in a very lively and interesting press conference, who enquired about his exchange with master batsman Tendulkar as he was seen staring at him.

“I always love to stare at the batsman no matter whether it is Sachin or any other batsman in the world. It’s not only at Sachin. I also stared at Australia captain Ricky Ponting in the last Test series at home,” said Shahadat, who surprised the vaunted Indian batting line-up with aggressive bowling.

But his main success on the day was with the bat as his valuable 31-run knock, highest in any level, helped Bangladesh to avoid the follow-on.

“My main intention was to play straight and gave support as much as possible to Mashrafe. I proved that I can also bat,” said the man popular with his teammates for his squeaky clean image.

“I told my partner not to think about me. I assured him that I would try my best to stay at the crease as long as possible. I enjoyed the batting today. I think the absence of Kumble also helped us to avoid the follow-on,” he said.

Everybody laughed at him when he declared that Mashrafe is the best batsman in the squad.

“I think Mashrafe is best batsman in the team. I was not surprised that the way Mashrafe batted today because he can do anything. He is great,” was the compliments of Shahadat for his new ball partner.

But he said that the pitch was fantastic for batting. “The pitch was fantastic for batting. It’s tough to take a wicket if a batsman makes no mistake,” he said.