'Never wanted to be a hero'
Mahmudullah Riyad is not a traditional hero for Bangladesh. In fact, for a team that has seen some of its more 'heroic' players get dropped for this series, the decision to stick to Riyad -- who had scored just a 115 runs in nine innings prior to this series this year -- seemed questionable.
However, the way he has carried his form from the Test series against the West Indies, suggests that the all-rounder might finally be paying back the management for their belief in him. His 82 yesterday, was an innings that helped turned the game around.
"I have never been a hero and I don't have that much interest in being one either," laughed Riyad when asked about his performance at the post-match press conference.
"I tried to win the match for the team and to grab a 4-0 lead, so that we have a chance at 5-0," he added.
For a player who generally bats down the order, runs don't come by easily and that's something that shows in Riyad's career statistics. This was his first half-century of the year. In the current team though, Riyad plays at number four, a role that he enjoys more.
"I need some time to get settled, that makes it easier for me. I am enjoying batting at this position at the moment. Hopefully I can continue this way," said Riyad.
After ambling through the first three ODIs, Bangladesh faltered for brief periods both with the bat and the ball yesterday. It was a bit more of a test for the Tigers. According to Riyad, the wicket was not as advantageous as the previous ODIs.
"After losing four wickets, we realised that there was something in the wicket. Even a normal ball seemed suspicious. But I am happy with the way we managed to cope with the situation. Hopefully we can use this experience against bigger teams," the batsman said.
Speaking on behalf of the Bangladesh team, towards the end of the press conference, Riyad dedicated the win to Phillip Hughes, who had tragically succumbed to an on-field injury on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura reckoned that they had lost a good opportunity to win a match.
"Our fifth bowler failed to bowl as tightly as our openers. That's why we did not manage to break the partnership. It could have been a different story had we got another wicket," said Chigumbura.
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