Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan praised his team for their remarkable victory over New Zealand in the first Test and sad that his absence did not affect the team's performance.
Ebadot Hossain picked up a six-wicket haul in the second innings as Bangladesh defeated New Zealand by eight wickets in the first Test here at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.
Shakib withdrew from the New Zealand tour to spend time with his family feels that the victory proves the visitors don't have to rely just on the senior players alone.
"I don't think my presence was necessarily important (in New Zealand). I am actually happy that they did it without me. Not just me... (but the others too). I think what really delighted me was that the notion, particularly in the media, that not many players apart from the four or five senior ones can win games for the team - that will be changed. If they are handed the responsibility, these youngsters will play better,"said Shakib Al Hasan as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
"We made an unbelievable start to 2022. I am very happy. Credit goes to all the players and coaching staff for playing well under so much pressure and in these conditions. Everyone tried hard. This was always going to be a challenging year after a difficult time in 2021 for us. I hope we can continue in this manner. Bangladesh do not play this well all the time," he added.
The first innings of both teams took majority of the first four days of the test. Kiwis scored 328 runs in the first innings led by Devon Conway's 122-run performance.
Bangladesh responded with 458 runs for their stint with the bat, with the score being helped by big performances from Mahmudul Hasan Joy (78), Najmul Hossain Shanto (64), Mominul Haque (88), and Liton Das (86).
New Zealand's second-inning batting efforts crumbled at the hands of a 6-wicket spell by Ebadat Hossain that ultimately meant that the Kiwis could only set a target of 39 runs for Bangladesh to chase down, which they did with ease to earn their first win in New Zealand, first-ever win vs New Zealand, and their first-ever test win against a top-five team in the world.
( With inputs from ANI )
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