Sabbir strokes maiden T20I half-century on fearless approach

Bangladesh all-rounder Sabbir Rahman has said his ‘fearless’ approach against Pakistan’s daunting bowling attack brought his success in the T20 International.

The Tigers thrashed an out-of-sorts Pakistan by seven wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday.
 
It was Bangladesh’s first win after losing seven matches against the 2009 world T20 champions and came on the back of 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series.
 
Sabbir was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his aggressive 51 off 32.
 
He and Shakib Al Hasan (57) put in a superb unbeaten 105-run stand to fire Bangladesh.
 
When 23-year old arrived at the crease after Mushfiqur Rahim’s dismissal, many had feared a Bangladesh collapse as the hosts had slipped to 38 for 3.
 
He kept his nerves to play his natural game and took the attack to the Pakistan bowlers.
 
“(I) wasn’t afraid. I tried to play ball by ball,” Sabbir later said.
 
He said Mushfiq advised him to stay on the wicket while he was leaving.
 
“When I crossed Mushfiq, he told me - ‘the wicket is very good. If you just stay there, you will be able to play’. He spoke positively, it boosted my confidence.”
 
Sabbir hit a century in BCB XI’s victory over Pakistan in a warm-up before the series.
 
Sabbir did not have much opportunity to bat during the ODI series but put the chance given to him in the T20 to good use.
 
“The most important thing is that Bangladesh have won the T20 match. I’ve said it before that if my scoring one run helps the team win (I would be happy).
 
“If I score a hundred and we lose, it will be sad for me.”
 
Sabbir said he preferred T20s to ODIs but enjoyed the 50-over format all the same.