Was worrying too much about my batting before but I managed to unclutter my mind today: Shakib
Shakib was calm and composed under pressure although wickets were tumbling at the other end. He spoke about the importance of having a clear mindset after the match.
Shakib Al Hasan played a superb knock of unbeaten 96 off 109 and helped Bangladesh edge past Zimbabwe in an absolute thriller of a match. Shakib had been out of runs since his return to cricket from a one-year suspension but has finally put his hands up when the team needed him the most.
Shakib was calm and composed under pressure although wickets were tumbling at the other end. He spoke about the importance of having a clear mindset after the match. "Working hard is a must. But the mindset is equally important. I think earlier I was worrying a bit too much. I tried to change it before this match. Few things helped me declutter my mind and keep myself focused. I will try not to lose concentration as much as I can. I don't think I need any technical change after all these years. It's all in the mind. I think if I can win the mind games against myself, I will score runs regularly," Shakib said.
Bangladesh didn't score a single boundary in over number 31-40. But Shakib wasn't frustrated. He took the game deep rather than doing something out of the ordinary.
"I was saying while batting that we needed to take the game to the 45th over and then assess. Because 15-20 or even 30 runs could be scored in the last two-three overs. We wanted to get as close as possible to the target. When we needed 60-70 runs, we didn't rush. We always knew it was possible to win from that situation," Shakib explained.
Shakib fell just four short of what could have been a sensational ton. But Shakib said that he was more than happy to contribute to team's success with both bat and ball.
The southpaw stitched a match-defining partnership with Mohammad Saifuddin of 69 for the eighth wicket. Shakib gave a lot of credit to Saifuddin for his composure. "The wicket was a bit different. The ball wasn't coming onto the bat and that's why playing shots were necessary. We had to adjust and I am really happy that we did it quite well. Saifuddin deserves a lot of credit especially for the way he finished the game," he concluded.