Win over Lanka will boost our confidence: Mortaza

 Admitting that Bangladesh have always struggled in Twenty20 International matches, captain Mashrafe Mortaza said that today’s upset win over defending champions Sri Lanka would boost their confidence going forward in the Asia Cup T20 cricket tournament.

“In T20, we have always struggled a bit. This was a good win for us, going forward in the tournament,” Mortaza said after his side beat the Lankans by 23 runs here.

“The wicket was pretty good to bat on. With the 147 we scored, we can still fight it out. After a couple of catches missed, we stood up and did our best,” he said.

“The wicket was on the slow side today. Shakib played a big role along with Mahmudullah, but Sabbir was brilliant.”

Man-of-the-match Sabbir Rahman, who scored a 54-ball 80 for Bangladesh, said, “It was a good opportunity to come in early. I just rotated the strike and played to my strengths.”

A disappointed Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews rued that his side lost their way after a good start while chasing 148 for a win.

“We could have just milked it around after we got the initial start. We just lost our way, and once we hit that 12-runs-an-over mark, we just kept losing wickets,” he said.

“Credit to Bangladesh for bowling and fielding well. We could have taken better options, but we kept losing wickets through the middle section,” he added.

“We have to be patient, it’s a learning curve for all of us. It will be hard work, we’ll need to beat India and Pakistan to qualify for the final, and we’ll try our best.”