Cool & Cool Cup Pakistan Vs Bangladesh Nasir brings light to gloom

Nasir Hossain might be an answer to the problem of Bangladesh's brittle batting. Here the gutsy right-hander pulls one down to the square-leg fence on way to his maiden hundred in the second one-day international against Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

If nothing else, Nasir Hossain can bring the smile back to the Bangladesh dressing-room from yesterday evening.

The young all-rounder's maiden ODI century was the only bright spot in an otherwise terrible outing for the home team who conceded the one-day series 0-2 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

But the young all-rounder's energetic presence from then on and until the end of the game showed how quickly Nasir has adopted to the international game. The 134-ball century, which he curiously credited to an opposition player, was also a triumph for players who get into the national fold after proper grooming in the domestic game.

But a delighted Nasir wasn't into anything serious, rather revealing how he thrives when the chips are down.

“When I had reached 75, Umar Akmal told me to go for a century. Until then, I was only concentrating on playing the 50 overs,” he said during a press conference that was upbeat despite the sombre state of affairs in the Bangladesh team.

“I decided that it was time to go for it. When I reached the century, I asked 'Riyad bhai, how should I raise the bat?' He told me to just raise it so I did,” he quipped.

But it was his innings that really took Bangladesh out of a desperately embarrassing situation into one of respectability. When he won the man-of-the-match award, it was a throwback to those times when the country would have been pleased with just the individual award rather than the real thing.

Walking into bat with the Tigers reeling on 19 for four, Nasir immediately took to leaving as much as possible while also trying to work out how to play Pakistan's trio of off-spinners.

Among the three, Nasir said he found it troubling to tackle Saeed Ajmal, though he did hit the offie for three boundaries. Nasir was also severe on Shahid Afridi, hammering him for 31 runs from 24 balls including a six.

The 2½ innings would do a lot for his confidence, but it probably should be good enough to put his more illustrious colleagues in shame. He however put a positive spin to this angle.

“I am the junior-most member of this team. If they see that I'm doing well, maybe they would think that they can also do well,” he said, though he was quite aware of perspectives in this cruel sport.

“Ultimately though, this century is of no value to the team. I didn't raise

my bat after the fifty because the match was already,” he added.