Muhammadullah Proved A Key Player Against India Said Shakib Al Hasan
Bangladesh lost by wickets to New Zealand in their final group game on Friday, a result which left the Asian side in fourth spot in Pool A & having to face Pool B winners India in their last-eight clash in Melbourne on March 19.
HAMILTON: Bangladesh stand-in captain Shakib Al Hasan believes in-form batsman Mohammad Mahmudullah could hold the key to a shock World Cup quarter-final win over defending champions India.
New Zealand, with six wins in six, topped Pool A but are still waiting to discover who they will meet in Wellington on March 21 as Pakistan, West Indies & Ireland are still tussling to qualify from Pool B.
Bangladesh, put in to bat at Seddon Park, made 288-7 in their 50 overs with Mahmudullah hitting his second consecutive hundred with a 123-ball 128 not out to add to his ton in Monday's thrilling 15-run win over England.
Soumya Sarkar scored a career best 51 adding an invaluable 90 runs for the third wicket after Bangladesh were struggling at 27-2.
"Mahmudullah needs to continue his form, he is in great touch so hopefully he can contribute with bat & ball & let's have a look at what happens," said Shakib.
I thought they played well, the way they batted was nice. They bowled well & kept it tight. They can take plenty of positives from the game & hopefully they can take that in to the quarter-finals.
For New Zealand, Martin Guptill hit 105 off 100 balls with Ross Taylor adding a half-century, passing five,000 ODI runs in the method.
"It feels nice. I felt nice most of the summer," said Guptill.
"We have plenty of belief & the way they are executing our skills is pleasing. They need to keep that up over the next few weeks."
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