Homeboy Zaker Ali Anik showed his charisma in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. With the bat, the Lankan ruled the bowlers and almost took the team to the port of victory. In the third ball of the last over of the innings, while playing a long shot, all chances ended when Zakir was caught at longon! In the remaining three balls, Taskin-Shariful could not score the required 10 runs. Bangladesh left the field with the bitter taste of losing by 3 runs. It is natural for Zaker to be upset because the team could not win despite batting well. But not falling apart. He told the media that he will try to win the match later.
Two losses in a span of four days. Even playing for Comilla in the final of the BPL, Zaker could not win the team. Tried on Monday too. Bangladesh was dreaming of winning the first match at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, relying on his brilliant innings of 68 runs. Not though. In the end, regret and frustration accompanied Zaker.
The wicket-keeper batsman had a sleepless night after losing the BPL final last Friday. Another loss on Monday after just one day of practice is also painful for Zaker. But the mentally strong Zak said that even if he fails, he will try to win in the future, ‘but you can understand what I am like from my face. Losing is always painful. I lost the BPL final. Didn’t sleep at night. It would be better to win for the country. I won’t break down. I will try to win the next match. We have a lot to gain in this match. We have a lot of achievements as a team if we sit down with a notebook and pen to take notes.’
Bangladesh’s top order had to bat responsibly to top the mountain of 206 runs. But before the power play, Bangladesh lost three top-order batsmen and almost crashed out of the match. Litton caught behind the wicket with a bad shot without opening the run book in the first over. After that Soumya Sarkar (12) and Tawhid Hriday (8) left the team for 30 runs and the hosts came under heavy pressure. Mahmudullah and Zaker pulled the team from there. Experienced Mahmudullah also batted explosively. Seeing the batting of the senior elder brother, Zaker himself felt the same. Bangladesh usually cannot bounce back after such a disaster. But seeing Mahmudullah’s batting gave Zaker confidence, ‘When I went to bat, Riyad (Mahmudullah) was the brother at the crease. He asked me to bat normally. Tried playing like I usually do. There were no additional plans. Riyad Bhai took some risks and hit some boundaries, which made my job easier.’
Mahmudullah got out with a 29-ball 47-run partnership with Zaker. In response to the question of what plan the two batted, Zaker said, ‘Both had such a plan. Riyad bhai was taking chances, then I also had a plan on how to score 10-12 runs in an over. Even if Riyad Bhai was there, I would have kept my role like this. I didn’t shift gears after he left.’
Bangladesh needed 27 runs to win in the last two overs. Zaker picked up 15 in the 19th over, taking advantage of Pathirana’s rhythmless bowling. Bangladesh needed 12 runs to win. But when Rishad departed on the first ball of Dasun Shanaka, the rhythm collapsed. After a wide, Taskin sends Zaker to the batting edge with a single. Zaker wanted to play Shanaka with a long-on on the third ball of the over. But he could not get the ball out of bounds. The boy of the house had to return to the dressing room after being handcuffed by Charith Asalanka. About the plan for the last over, Zaker said, ‘I told Rishad to try to give me strikes. Unfortunately his wicket fell. I was still on strike when 10 runs were needed from 4 balls. I was confident that I could. As the whole innings was going well. Not connected….’
Even after such an innings, Zakeri was not satisfied. Bharbei or what? The team did not win, ‘If I could have won the match, I would have been more happy even if I scored 10-12 runs. Well played Alhamdulillah, what Allah has given. But maybe I would have been more happy if I had won the match.’
Zaker was introduced to international cricket through the Asian Games last year. Despite the international recognition of those three matches, he made his debut in the national team jersey on Monday. But Zaker never had any thoughts about the national team. In addition to performing, he always trusted God, ‘I used to tell everyone that I can play when Allah has written down the time to play in my national team. Now my chance has come. I was also mentally prepared. When Alice got injured, I went with the preparations. Shanta talked to me that you have a chance to go. Be mentally prepared. So I was ready. ‘
#wont #break #win #Zaker
