ZCZC
BSP-15
CRICKET-MAHMUDULLAH-ZAKIR
Mahmudullah heaps praise on young Zakir
DHAKA, Dec 4, 2020 (BSS) – Gemcon Khulna captain Mahmudullah Riyad showered opener Zakir Hasan with a huge praise, stating that the youngster grabbed the chance with both hands and paid off the team management’s faith on him.
Zakir was not Khulna’s plan A to open the innings but with the regular opener Anamul Haque Bijoy struggling to make a mark in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup, Khulna decided to inject a fresh breath of air into the squad by choosing someone young.
However, captain Mahmudullah saw a promise in Zakir’s batting in net and decided to replace Anamul with him in the opening position.
Zakir proved that the decision of Mahmudullah Riyad won’t backfire as he played a knock that not only gave Khulna a much-needed stability in the top order, but also earned him the man of the match in his first outing.
Zakir struck a 42 ball-63, sending the ball to the boundary for 10 times as Khulna won the game against Fortune Barishal by 48 runs.
“Zakir has been batting really well in the net so I thought to give Anamul a rest so that he could bring back his previous form,” Mahmudullah said after the match.
“However Zakir grabbed the chance with both hands and played a fantastic knock in a pitch that was not so conducive to batting. He gave our bowlers a big score to defend. His innings was vital in winning the game.”
Khulna went with new opening partnership in the match with Zakir joining Jahurul Islam Omee to open the innings. Earlier in the last two matches, Khulna opened the innings with Shakib Al Hasan and Anamul Haque Bijoy but they couldn’t succeed.
The new opening partnership also failed to make a mark with Omee being out on just 2. However Zakir ensured Khulna would get a good start and he got a ably support in Imrul Kayes.
Kayes and Zakir shared 90-run for the second wicket partnership to set a good platform for the side.
Praising Kayes’s 37, Mahmudullah said Kayes’s experience helped Zakir to flourish with full glory in the match.
“Kayes’s experience is a bonus for us. Kayes and Zakir shared a good partnership and more importantly they played with good strike rate,” Mahmudullah opined.
“Kayes’s experienced helped Zakir to play with freedom, which was good thing for us. I think their partnership was vital in winning the game. As they stitched a good partnership, we could play without any tension towards the end,” he concluded.
BSS/SMP/MMA/1818HRS