Century is reward of hard work, says Miraz

|| CF DESK ||

Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who hit another heroic knock to help Bangladesh win the three-match ODI series against India, said his current purple patch is the result of his hard work over the last few years.

He stated that he concentrated on specific areas to correct mistakes in order to be consistent on the international circuit. Mehidy's efforts, on the other hand, were enormous, as he assisted Bangladesh in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat for the second time in a row to win the series.

In the first ODI, Miraz held his nerve to lead Bangladesh to an unlikely one-wicket victory after facing a 51-run deficit with one wicket remaining. In the second match, he helped Bangladesh recover from a shaky 69-6 to post a commanding 271-7 total, smashing his first century.

He hit his century on the last ball of the innings and finished unbeaten on 100 off 83 balls, with eight fours and four sixes. Despite a valiant effort by injured Rohit Sharma, who briefly scared Bangladesh with 28 ball-51 not out, the total proved to be match-winning in the end.

However despite Rohit's storm, Bangladesh ended up with 5-run victory to clinch the second successive home-series victory over India in the ODI format.

"Last few years I've worked hard and I need to focus on particular areas. The coach gives me lots of information as to how to play in international cricket," Mehidy said without elaborating much after ending the match.

He however was awarded man of the match for the consecutive second time in the series to make the things of his own.

After Bangladesh slumped to 69-6, Mehidy and Mahmudullah Riyad combined for a 148-run partnership for the second wicket stand, a partnership which threw India out of the game. Mahmudullah who was criticized for his poor form, helped him and Bangladesh with 96 ball-77 runs knock.

"He [Mahmudullah] is a senior guy and we just wanted to build a partnership. It was a great moment for me and while bowling I just tried the good areas," Mehidy said.

Bangladesh captain Liton Das also praised the partnership by Mehidy and said the duo gave them a total to win the game.

"We lost six wickets but the way Miraz and Riyad bhai played was outstanding. The wicket played well in the second half and I just changed the bowlers," Liton said.

Last time the two sides met in Bangladesh for last bilateral ODI series, Bangladesh won that by 2-1. This time Liton vowed to make it 3-0.

"Winning the series as captain - it's a dream come true. I decided that 240 would be enough in Mirpur. However we are going for winning the match [in Chattogram]."