Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan was left overwhelmed with emotion after his side maintained their hopes of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals with a sensational two-wicket victory over England.
The Tigers looked dead and buried in Chittagong when toiling on 169-8 in pursuit of England’s 225 all out, however a remarkable ninth-wicket partnership between Mahmudullah (21 not out) and Shafiul Islam (24no) turned the match on its head.
The pair shared an unbroken 58-run stand in 56 balls as England were left shell-shocked by the remarkable fightback.
Mahmudullah hit the winning runs off the final ball of the penultimate over, sparking scenes of euphoria among players, fans and even groundstaff at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Great win
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, a delighted Shakib said: “It means an awful lot to the whole country. We all know we’re very emotional about cricket and every time we do well they’re just like that.
“It was a great win for us and hopefully we’ll kick on from here. We have to play two more games and to qualify for the next round we have to win the two games. Otherwise we have to rely on the other teams.”
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal added: “We know that he (Shafiul) can bat a bit but not like that. (Mahmudullah) was not playing the last two games but came back strongly and did the job for us. It was fantastic.
“Everyone’s really happy. Hats off to the boys – they played really good cricket.
“It’s unbelievable. I’m just waiting to go and see the people dancing around the ground.
Nervous
“It’s a different thing for us winning a game against England. There’s a slight chance we might qualify for the second round.
“We just need to do well in the next game and win the next game and wait for the England-West Indies game.”
Asked at what point he believed Bangladesh would win, Tamim replied: “Never. We were seeing the game but not talking.
“We were so nervous. You never know with cricket. It was unbelievable.”
