All the credit isnt mine alone, all the bowlers bowled really well, Sheikh Mahedi

Sheikh Mahedi was Bangladesh’s best bowler in the victory against Ireland. He took 3 wickets for 25 runs. However, in his very first over of the innings, he conceded 13 runs. He made a strong comeback in the middle overs. After the match, he appeared in the press conference. Speaking about bowling in the powerplay, Mahedi said:

“Bowling in the powerplay against two right-handers was a bit challenging for me. They were giving themselves room and trying to play with my mind. When you have five fielders outside the circle, you can plan better. But I tried to stick to my plan and play to my strengths.”

Ireland raced to 75 runs in the powerplay. But Bangladesh’s bowlers regrouped in the middle overs, preventing the total from crossing 200. For this reason, Mahedi credited the rest of the bowling unit:

“At the end of the day, we bowled in the right areas. Because we bowled well in the middle overs, they ended up 20–30 runs short. The middle overs were very important. The way they used the powerplay—any team would call that an awesome start. Almost 80 runs in six overs. Coming back from there was great. And all the credit isn’t mine alone; all the bowlers bowled really well.”

When Bangladesh were under pressure during the chase, Saifuddin’s boundaries helped the team break free and eventually secure the win. In Mahedi’s words:

“Saifuddin is on and off, not a regular. When the top-order does well, the tail-enders don’t get to bat. In international cricket, tail-enders bat only after long gaps. If there is a collapse at the top, they have to come early. I’d say Saifuddin came after a long time and played an outstanding innings. Those two boundaries in that pressure moment were extremely important for us.”

He further added:

“Everyone comes to the field with their own plans. I think in this area, we have a video analyst, all the bowlers think about their roles. Bowling well in the powerplay is difficult in these conditions. The way the bowlers made a comeback was exceptional. After that kind of start, for the bowlers to come back like this—hats off to them.”