Former Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad began his new role on a winning note. The former cricketer tasted success in his very first assignment as mentor of the Bangladesh High Performance (HP) unit.
Bangladesh HP took a 1-0 lead in the two-match T20I series with an 89-run win over Malaysia on Saturday. Despite having limited information about their opponents, the team stuck to their plans, following Mahmudullah’s advice to play “positive cricket.”
At Mirpur Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Bangladesh were not at their best with the bat but still set Malaysia a target of 159 after batting first. In reply, Malaysia struggled from the outset against Bangladesh’s spin attack. Off-spinners Rubel Hasan and Rakibul Hasan wreaked havoc as Malaysia were bowled out for just 69, handing the HP side a convincing 89-run victory.
Rubel, who played a key role in the win, highlighted Mahmudullah’s influence after the match. The off-spinner took 2-6 in his three overs and said, “He is helping the batters a lot and explaining things to the bowlers as well. His advice was to play positive cricket.”
