No talking, just dancing

SNAPSHOTS OF THE EPIC WIN: L-R, Jahurul Islam steadied the Bangladesh ship with workmanlike 53 after the early loss of Nazimuddin and here he kisses the pitch that brought him his maiden half-century; Nasir Hossain in between played a masterly knock of 54 off 58 balls while captain Mushfiqur Rahim has all the reasons to be beaming and jumping as he was there till the end with 46 not out. Bangladesh won this Asia Cup contest against India by five wickets. They scored 293 for 5 in 49.2 overs in reply to India's 289 for five.Photo: Anisur Rahman

"I don't want to talk rather I want to dance right at this moment. Please let me dance for as long as I can tonight," was the instant reaction from all-rounder Nasir Hossain, one of the heroes behind Bangladesh's five-wicket success against India in the Asia Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
It was not only the young man but everybody in the stadium and beyond who celebrated in any way they could, taking the lead perhaps from Shakib Al Hasan, who shouted his heart out.
After a long break, the Tigers again roared against a big side and the most important thing was that they carried their good spirit from the first game against Pakistan into the second match, which has been something rare in Bangladesh cricket. The evidence was that Mushfiqur Rahim's men had learnt from their mistakes very quickly.
And the comments from former Pakistan opener turned commentator Ramiz Raja might have ignited the Tigers to do something special to prove the critics wrong very quickly.
“During the toss Ramiz Raja said that we had played our best in the last game (against Pakistan). I told him that those who are saying this should see their face in the mirror. We thought we did a great job tonight and finished the game well,” said an excited Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim in the post-match briefing who dedicated the victory to the late all-rounder Manzarul Islam Rana, who died in a road accident on March 16 in 2007.
Bangladesh's victory also impressed Sachin Tendulkar, whose party was spoiled by the Tigers splendid victory.
“I feel Bangladesh is a good team, an underrated team. People still talk of Bangladesh as if they don't know how to play cricket. They have a good side; even against Pakistan the match got close. So that itself is proof of them being a better side. They've played international cricket for quite sometime now; not that they just started. They've got some good players,” said Tendulkar when asked about Bangladesh's journey so far in the international game.
“There are many good players. I felt Shakib changed the momentum. He batted well; Tamim is a good player. Later on I felt it was the captain, Mushfiqur,” he added.
Congratulating Tendulkar for his landmark achievement, Mushfiqur said: “There is hardly anything you can say about him. We tried our best so that he could not score his hundred quickly. For him and also for us it's a great and memorable match.”
Mushfiqur, whose cameo unbeaten 25-ball 46 took the team to the victory, looked very confident although the situation was not easy for him.
“Oh no, there were a lot of problems. We needed 9-9.5 and at some stages 11 even. Nasir and I wanted to take it to the last over where we could have needed 10-12. But that (Irfan Pathan) over released the pressure,” said Mushfiqur who also praised Shakib.
“It's great to have a player like him (Shakib),” he said.
Chasing 290, it was obvious that the batsmen played the vital role, but the skipper didn't forget to praise his two best bowlers.
“If Raj (Abdur Razzak) and Mashrafe (Mashrafe Bin Mortaza) conceded those extra 20 runs, we were gone. But hats off to them. It might not sound too big but it was important for us. 300-320 would have been difficult to chase for us.”
Mushfiqur was also hopeful about their chance of playing in the final and for that they will have to win their last league match against Sri Lanka on March 20.
“We have a game in hand and we'll play like we have done before in this tournament. If we can start well and hold on to the momentum, we will definitely play to win,” said a confident Mushfiqur.
The skipper also showed his steely character, as he did not mince his words when asked about Shakib's controversial dismissal and the reluctance of the BCCI to invite Bangladesh to India for a full series.
“They (BCCI) should have called us 2-3 years back,” said Mushfiqur adding about Shakib's dismissal, “I was the next batsman and I was taking a look. I personally felt that the benefit of doubt always goes in favour of the batsman.”
Chief selector Akram Khan also lauded the team effort. “I think the team played as a unit in the last two games. We have to keep faith with these boys. I firmly believe that these players have the ability to play good cricket but now we have to concentrate on consistency,” said the former Bangladesh skipper.