Shakib on exposing New Zealand, playing India next and Mahmudullah matching Sanga

Shakib Al Hasan was speaking with the media after Bangladesh narrowly lost to New Zealand in their World Cup Pool A match. You can also listen to the full press conference in the audio widget above.

Q. Shakib, after the performance against England that obviously got you through to the quarters, a disappointment to come up a bit short or were you proud of the way the guys fought when it looked as though Taylor and Guptill might have taken it away from you? SHAKIB AL HASAN: A bit of both. Obviously we can take the confidence in the way we played. I thought it was really good. We can take that confidence into the quarterfinal and that will help us immensely, I guess. Yeah, on the other side it is disappointing to come out short in this type of match. I think it was an excellent game of cricket. Yeah, it could have gone either way. In the end they are the better side on this day.

Q. Even though this match is just finished, now you’ll be playing India in Melbourne. What your thoughts? SHAKIB AL HASAN: Well, we haven’t thought about it yet. Yeah, obviously it’s going to be exciting. There will be a lot of fans cheering for them on the grounds, so it will be exciting, I guess, and hopefully we’ll be prepared. For the first time we’re playing quarterfinals, so it will be exciting for us, and we will be prepared for it.

Q. This morning the ball was swinging around as it has been in New Zealand, so was there a plan or what was the plan throughout the day? What were you aiming for? SHAKIB AL HASAN: Well, we always knew that with the overcast condition, the ball would swing a bit, and that’s what happened. But we knew that after 15, 20 overs it will get easier, and scoring runs will be easier. That’s exactly what happened. I think the way Mahmudullah is batting is too different for the team and some of the other boys that contributed and each and every game there are batsman that have been contributing for the team. So it’s a good sign for Bangladesh cricket, I guess.

Q. Is the team feeling any pressure ahead of the quarterfinal in Melbourne because we saw South Africa come up there and the Indian supporters were very hostile. SHAKIB AL HASAN: Well, to be honest, our first target was to qualify for the quarterfinal and now it’s a one-off game. If we play well on the day, I think anything can happen, and that’s what we are thinking. We’ll be prepared as well as we can for that game, and I think the boys will be up for it.

Q. Do you think you’ve uncovered a weakness with Brendon McCullum against spin at the start of the innings? SHAKIB AL HASAN: Well, that was our plan. That worked today. Thankfully it might not work in the other games, so you never know. Yeah, bowler was spinning a bit on the track, ball was holding a bit, so that helped our spinners to bowl well in this track.

Q. What was the turning point of this game? SHAKIB AL HASAN: I don’t see any turning point. I thought we played really well. We kept them tight. I thought the way (Martin) Guptill played, it was to affect the way Ross Taylor was hanging on the wicket. It was good for their team. We needed that wicket, finally got it, but in the end, think we are a bit – I would say 10 runs short.

Q. Do you feel like after you’ve exposed maybe a couple weaknesses in the New Zealand lineup, despite the fact they’re unbeaten, that teams that are going to take them on in the quarterfinals will see they’re not unbeatable? SHAKIB AL HASAN: Well, we always knew that the spinners we have, we have some quality spinners, and if we bowl to our potential it will be obviously hard. As I said, it was helping. The ball was holding a bit on the wicket, so that helped us and some of the bowlers. So that made them difficult to score runs against the spinners. Although they scored some runs, but yeah, the spinners scored some wickets, so that was the crucial part, I guess.

Q. Talk about Mahmudullah’s batting. SHAKIB AL HASAN: Well, as I said, he’s been terrific throughout this tournament. He’s, I think, top five run getters in this ICC World Cup. Hopefully he’ll continue his performance in the quarterfinal match. As you know, he’ll be proud of himself, and at the same time his job is not finished yet. As a professional team we’ll look for him to score another hundred. If Sangakkara can score four hundreds in a row, why not Mahmudullah?