Mahmudullah—the heart of Bangladesh

Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan are the top World Cup scorers so far. These are names that one usually associates with batting laurels. The fourth name on the list is not as famous but then sports have this uncanny habit of throwing up new heroes. Mahmudullah's bat has done most of the talking for Bangladesh in 2015 World Cup.
The only Bangladeshi batsman to score a century in a World Cup, Mahmudullah on Friday, bettered his own 103 against England by slamming 128 (not out) against a determined New Zealand bowling attack in Hamilton. That this Kiwi attack was almost the same that ran through Australia and England in the tournament mattered very little to the 29-year-old gangling Mahmudullah, who can send the game's best all-rounders green with envy on his day.
Coming in at No. 4 under an overcast sky in Hamilton, Mahmudullah had to endure the pace and bounce of Tim Southee and Trent Boult. While Southee had cut off the run flow from his end, Boult was running amok and had reduced Bangladesh to 27 for 2 inside 10 overs. Bangladesh, as expected, were reeling. In other words, Mahmudullah arrived in a pressure cooker situation.
That he has a sensible head over broad and strong shoulders was evident once again. The Kiwis did everything pressure Mahmudullah. He took off where he left against England began his innings on a watchful note. He studied the gaps, worked out his singles and with Soumya Sarkar (51), kept the scoreboard ticking. The pressure was easing off.
Even when Sarkar pushed and pulled for the occasional boundary, Mahmudullah kept his natural instinct to attack in check for a while. All of that changes in the 14th over when he punished Boult for three boundaries - each shot more complete than the one before. As it turned out, the fours were only a sign of bigger things to come.
While Mahmudullah hit five fours en route to a 63-ball 50, he shifted gears thereafter and raced to a ton off just 111 balls. By then, he had dispatched another three fours, two sixes and a flying kiss towards fans.
His unbeaten knock eventually propelled Mahmudullah into the record books. Not only did he become only the second Bangladeshi to score back-to-back tons after Shahriar Nafees (2006), he also became the team's highest scorer in World Cup -- obliterating his own score against England.    — NDTV