Bangladesh batsman Mohammad Mithun believes that his maiden ODI half-century against Sri Lanka is the best knock of his international career so far but believes it will be too early to call it a turning point. The 27-year-old right-hander put up a rescue act in the opening game against Sri Lanka with his 63 from 68 balls as he along with Mushfiqur Rahim, who hit his career best 144 runs, added a match-defining 131 runs for the third wicket to lay the platform for a competitive total.
Mithun, who had only 36 runs from his previous three ODI appearances, said he is satisfied to have contributed to the team’s cause but doesn’t want to get carried away by it. “This is my best performance in international cricket because earlier [I] did not do anything to attract attention,” Mithun said on Monday (September 17).
“I am happy to contribute but at this stage, you need to prepare for every match and because I had a good start in the last match [I] would like to take the confidence in my next game. If I want to prolong my career than I have to play well in lot of matches, and for me every game is challenging,” he said.
As much as Mithun would like to bat in the top-half of the batting order, he’s content with doing justice to his current role. However, his role in the opening game wasn’t much different to that of a top-order batsman with Bangladesh having lost two early wickets and Tamim Iqbal having walked off with a broken wrist. Mithun mentioned how he would want to prove himself from the No.5 position too, where his turn to bat might not come anytime sooner than the 30th over, given the presence of a top-heavy batting lineup with Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.
Mithun also added that they will leave no stone unturned to top their group and enter the Super Four. However, he’s aware of the challenge the Afghanistan spinners would pose in front of them, especially in the conditions of Abu Dhabi that would suit that kind better. “Of course, we are confident of becoming the group champions,” remarked Mithun. “There are [a] lot of positives for us from the last game but at the same time we have to play our best to beat them because until that happens any team can lose to any small teams.
