Rajshahi thrive on spirit

Rajshahi Rangers captain Khaled Mashud predictably pointed out his team's commitment and spirit as the decisive factor but said he preferred Khulna to Dhaka as finals' opponents of the Destiny Group National Cricket League T20s.
“We regained our confidence after the semifinal win over Dhaka and once we did that, I always knew we could beat Khulna. Actually we preferred Khulna as the final opponents than Dhaka,” said Mashud while speaking to the reporters after the enthralling final match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur last evening.
“Any total, be it 140, 160 or 180 is achievable here if the team can bat well, so I was always confident we could chase down their target. Our team was always 100 per cent committed to the cause,“ he said.
“We always plan ahead of every game and look out for opponents' strengths and weaknesses,” added the man popularly known as Pilot.
Mashud also praised his batsman Aiden Blizzard for giving them a rapid start in all the important matches and final heroes Kaiser Abbas and Shuvogoto Hom. The two middle-order batsmen added 109 for the fourth wicket in a display rarely seen in local Twenty20 cricket. “They batted beautifully, especially Shuvogoto. I thought he batted in an excellent manner,” commented Mashud.
Shuvogoto, the strong middle-order batsman who hails from Mymensingh, pointed how this season was a sort of comeback for him after suffering from jaundice in the last season.
“I missed the Premier League last season because of jaundice so I was always looking to score lots of runs in this season,” said Shuvogoto, who made 62 off 49 balls. He added that he was always convinced that they could chase the target set by the Kings of Khulna.
His teammate Mukhtar Ali, who won the best bowler of the tournament, said how he felt very comfortable bowling at the death.
“My team knows I bowl in the slog overs and they used me then. Actually I bowl very well at that time and pick up a lot of wickets. To be honest, its easy to pick up wickets in the slog because batsmen are always going after the bowling,” said Mukhtar who has the target of getting back to one of the national setups after missing out this season.
National opener Imrul Kayes won a sedan car after being voted the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. But he informed that ironically, he had just purchased a bigger car only a few days back.
The left-hander was happier that he had managed to reply to his critics. “I wasn't scoring the runs and a few comments really hurt me. So I thought the best way to answer them would be by scoring runs,” said Kayes.
He also said that he was looking forward to forging a partnership with Tamim Iqbal in the World T20s in West Indies early next month.
“If Tamim (Iqbal) plays, I would bat with him like I do in one-day cricket and put up good starts,” added Kayes.
Sultans of Sylhet captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza won the Man-of-the-Tournament award for his all-round match-winning performances throughout the series while Tamim Iqbal won the award for most sixes.
Veteran spinner Mohammad Rafique was given an award for the most economical bowling in the tournament.