ICC World Cup 2019 | First match always sets the tone, says Mashrafe Mortaza
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After Bangladesh’s emphatic victory over South Africa on Sunday, Mashrafe Mortaza has stated that the first match of a tournament always sets the tone. Bangladesh went on to score 330 runs after winning the toss and restricted South Africa to just 309 runs in the second half of the match.
Bangladesh came into the World Cup after a fantastic run in the Tri-series against Ireland and West Indies. The first match against Ireland in the series was washed out after they got a fine start but they won the next match against the Windies, the same side whom they defeated in the finals. Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza likened the start of the ten-nation tournament to that of the Tri-series.
“The first match always sets the tone. We have been positive, won in Ireland and the momentum helped us set the tone here,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony, reported, reported Cricbuzz.
Faf du Plessis had won the toss and put Bangladesh to bat first on a good pitch, albeit some footmarks from the opening encounter of the showpiece event. Mortaza revealed that he had a little confusion about the decision after the toss.
“After the toss, I had a doubt whether to bat or to bowl first. But it was a used wicket in the last match and we thought that batting first isn't a bad option,” he shared.
Soumya Sarkar laid the platform for his side as he scored 42 off 30 balls at the top. Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan followed it up with a fine 142-run partnership, as the former scored 78 while the latter scored 75. Mosaddek played a quickfire knock off 26 in 20 deliveries before being dismissed in the 49th over. Mahmudullah finished off things in style in his unbeaten knock of 46 in 33 deliveries. The skipper was all praise for his batsmen.Â
“The batsmen batted really well, especially Soumya at the start. Mushy (Rahim) batted really well; he plays these kind of innings with high strike-rates, so did Shakib and then Mahmudullah and Mosaddek finished it really well. But I have to give credit to Soumya for laying the platform,” reckoned the 35-year-old.
South Africa got a stable start before Quinton de Kock was dismissed in a silly run out effected by wicket-keeper Rahim in the tenth over. De Kock wasted his start of 23 runs, as did the next five batsmen. Mustafizur Rahman claimed three wickets despite giving away 67 runs, followed by Mohammad Saifuddin who returned with figures of 57/2 in eight overs. The spin duo of Mehidy Hassan and Shakib Al Hasan tied the batsmen to the ground, as pointed out the skipper.
"I knew it was a good wicket to bat on and we knew that we had to bowl in the right areas to get wickets. I kept changing the bowlers and the good thing was that we got wickets at every stage. The spinners bowled really well and then set it up for Fizz (Mustafizur) and Saifuddin,” asserted Mortaza.
“A big crowd was behind us, and hopefully we are expecting them to come back in our next match in the same way. We are expecting the same thing, even the people watching us back home are expecting us to win and hopefully we'll do well."
