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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUPJune 24, 2019Shakib Al HasanSouthampton, England, UK Bangladesh - 262/7 (50), Afghanistan - 200 (47) Q. Shakib, this performance, the five wicket haul, this must be one of your top ODI bowling performances, and how much was the team under pressure, especially because Afghanistan is a dangerous team and you didn't really make a lot of runs on this wicket? SHAKIB AL HASAN: To be honest, we thought that we had enough runs on the board. It wasn't a wicket where a team can score 300, 350. So we knew that it's always going to be difficult with the bowling attack. They got three quality spinners, and we had to handle them well. I thought we did that pretty well. That's why we scored 260-odd runs. Our target was actually to bat 50 overs and get more than 240. 240 was our minimum target. I thought it was a good thinking because we wanted to bat the overs, and if we get some more runs, that is something we'll take it as a bonus. So that's exactly what happened. I think we got 20 more runs, 25 more runs than what we were expecting. So that gave us enough aid to go out there and bowl Afghanistan out. We knew that it's not an easy wicket, so we needed to make sure we put them under pressure with dot balls, and that's exactly what we have done. Q. Thank you, Shakib. How sure were you that your team will beat Afghanistan? And second question, how important was the toss? Because Afghanistan won the toss, and they elected to field first. SHAKIB AL HASAN: It was a little surprising from our side because we are playing on a used wicket. So we thought that whoever win the toss will bat first, but that's their game plan. Sometimes people like to chase, and sometimes people like to bat first. So I don't know what is their team thought on that regard. We were never sure we were going to beat Afghanistan because they're a dangerous side and a very good side. So we needed to make sure that we do our job properly. We give our 100 percent, and in the end the result will take care of itself. Q. Shakib, you've obviously been in four World Cups now. How satisfying is it to bring your absolute best game to the biggest tournament there is? SHAKIB AL HASAN: Very satisfying. It was needed. It was important from my perspective and from team. Luckily, I've been doing this, and very happy the way this tournament is going so far. Still two more important matches left, and hopefully after that. First things first, we have a very important game coming up against India. They are the top side. They are someone who is looking at the title. So it's not going to be easy, but having said that, we'll give our best shot. Q. In terms of experience, you played in 2007 and beat them. I mean, the experience your entire side has got -- SHAKIB AL HASAN: Experience will help, but experience is not the end of the world. We have to play our best cricket in order to be able to beat India. They got world class players who can take the matters on their own hand. As I said, we have to be at our best, and I believe that we are a capable enough team. Q. Shakib, you've been in fantastic touch. After the IPL, did you feel like you had a point to prove, and did you prepare any differently in terms of the head space? SHAKIB AL HASAN: I did prepare well, but I never felt that I had a point to prove. I did everything I could do before the World Cup started for my preparation, and luckily it's been helping me a lot. Q. Shakib, where do you rank this performance in your career? SHAKIB AL HASAN: I don't know. I don't rank my performance at all, but it is very satisfying when I'm contributing both ball and bat. It gives me more satisfaction rather than contributing in one sector. So it is very satisfying. Q. Shakib, you're only one point behind England now, who are in fourth place. How strong is the belief that you guys can overtake them and claim that semifinal place? SHAKIB AL HASAN: Well, England got three more matches, and they need to win one. We have two more matches, and we have to win two. So it's difficult mathematically, but having said that, in cricket anything can happen. As I said to earlier questions, it will be difficult, but we have the belief that we can play well in next two matches and get the result. That's all we can do at this moment. We have to look at the other results as well, but first things first, we have to play two very important matches and get the results in our favor. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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