Opener Imrul Kayes fulfilled an important target in his growth as a player yesterday: he remained at the crease till the end.
For the 24-year-old who says he doesn't have special plans, the 73 not out was a significant step forward, ensuring that his side went over the line in their 6-wicket win over the Netherlands at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.
"This is a special innings simply because I remained not out," said Imrul at the end of yesterday's game.
The number of hugs for the well-built Imrul was on the rise as he made his way back to the dressing room after speaking to the media in the post-match press conference, but for the Meherpur lad, it seems nothing much has changed.
"I really liked this innings you know. I think it was not the easiest wicket to bat on. After [Shahriar] Nafees came to the crease, I realised that it wasn't going to be easy to play the big shots so I changed gear. I just focused on staying firm and remain till the end," explained Imrul, who also goes by the nickname Sagar.
"After Tamim [Iqbal] got out, Junaed [Siddiqui] came in and when he played shots off good balls, I knew that if I wanted to stay at the crease, I would be successful," he added.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan was pleased with Imrul's display of patience. "He batted very well. I thought it was a wicket where he had to struggle so I thought he did the right thing. Since we didn't have any tensions, I think he did the right job," said Shakib.
The unbeaten 113-ball innings that had six boundaries also brought him a second successive man-of-the-match award, but this time Imrul thinks he deserved it.
"Of course I'm having a good time. I said last time that Shafiul deserved it but I think I played well, stayed till the end. I always thought about when I would get the man-of-the-match award as I never had previously received it," he said.
Apart from the award, he took one special souvenir. "Yes I took a stump this time, I couldn't get it after the England game though," said Imrul.
