Agency :
Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal and Najmul Hossain Shanto, who got his maiden century thanked the local Bangladeshi supporters after their thrilling win against Ireland.
Najmul made 117 off just 93 balls with a dozen fours and three sixes at Chelmsford, raising the team from a difficult start, adding 61 with Shakib al Hasan and 131 with Towhid Hridoy, who made an important 68 in front of a 4,000-strong crowd largely made up of Tigers fans.
“I feel very happy, it was nice. I think Hridoy batted well. His intent helped me. It’s pretty cold but we can’t control conditions. We just focus on our game. We didn’t feel we were outside Bangladesh, thanks to the crowd. Hopefully they can come in the next match as well” said player of the match Shanto.
Skipper Tamim also praised the local crowed for their ‘unbelievable’ support and gave credit to Shanto and Hridoy.
“The support is unbelievable when we played in England. I remember our crowd outnumbered England in 2017, it’s special. Due to the ground dimensions and the wicket, we thought it was chaseable. It’s not a ground where you need to look for a boundary all the time, they will come. Kudos to Shanto. If Towhid keeps performing the way he does, he will be gold,” said Tamim in the presentation.
Bangladesh now holds a 1-0 series lead and the final game of the three match series will be played today.