DHAKA – Mohammad Mithun was one of the shining spots in Bangladesh’s frustrating five-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the second ODI today, which cost them the three-match series.
After captain Tamim Iqbal set the platform with a calculative 72, Bangladesh could have lost the way, especially when two senior players- Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah couldn’t prop up their game.
But Mithun stood tall when it mattered most. He not only held together the innings but also put the New Zealand bowlers to sword at the death overs and propelled Bangladesh to 271-6, which was a good total, considering the
condition of the pitch.
“Mithun played a really good innings,” captain Tamim Iqbal said. “It is always tough to play well from the batting position in which he normally bats. Moreover his position is not settled. He played against Zimbabwe and
played well but when Shakib Al Hasan came into the side during the West Indies series, he was dropped. Shakib is not here now and so he came. But still he played well despite not being regular in the team. I am really happy for him and I am hopeful that he would cement his place in the side.”
Mithun said his intention was to watch the ball well before hitting it. “I know the New Zealand condition is tougher for us. So I concentrated on playing ball to ball. It is tough to make runs here if you play slowly. So my goal is to watch the ball well and hit it well. I tried to stay positive,” Mithun said, regarding his innings.
The latest defeat stretched Bangladesh’s losing-streak to 28 (15 ODIs, 9 Tests and 4 T20Is) on New Zealand soil. But Mithun remains positive, saying that they want to end the win-draught here in this tour.
“As a team, we definitely want to win at least one match here. If we win just one game, it will be a good success for us. There is still an ODI to go and we will give our best. I think we still could win a game,” he added.BSS
