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Bangladesh allrounder Mahmudullah says the thrilling Asia Cup victory over Pakistan will ease his pain of losing the final against the same opponents in 2012.
Published : 03 Mar 2016, 01:40 AM
The Tigers set up the final against India with a nerve-racking 5-wicket win at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
The defeat in the final of the 2012 Asia Cup plunged Bangladesh into despair. In that match, Mahmudullah was unbeaten on 17 while he was 22 not out on Wednesday.
But the despair of defeat was replaced with the joy of triumph this time around.
In 2012, Bangladesh neded 19 runs in the last two overs. The equation boiled down to 9 off the last over but they ended up losing the match by an agonising 2 runs.
With little help from the other end, Mahmudullah was unable to make his presence at the crease count then.
But on Wednesday, Bangladesh made their job easy by reducing the calculation to 3 in the last over before 30-year old hammered a boundary off the first ball and launched into ecstatic victory celebrations.
"The final of the Asia Cup in 2012 was on my mind, this win will help us forget that," he said after the match.
"The pressure was always there, you need to know when to calm down and when to play the big shot.
"I wanted to give myself a chance to take it till the end, since I knew (Mohammad) Amir and (Mohammad) Sami would be bowling the 18th and 19th overs.
"I targeted the last over. But we all but sealed the win in the over before that."
