We had belief that we would win this Test: Tigers’ captain Shanto

Najmul Hossain Shanto, the interim Test skipper, said his team had the belief that they could beat New Zealand following a 150-run win on Saturday which gave Bangladesh their maiden Test win against New Zealand at home, reports Cricbuzz.

The win also helped them begin the third edition of the ICC World Test Championship on the right note having finished the previous edition with a solitary win.

"It is a good feeling. I am very happy to have won my first Test as captain. Everything went to plan. We played a good game," Najmul said.

"I was quite clear about my statement that we could win this Test series. I didn't say it as motivation. I meant that we can win this game. Everyone had the same belief. I got the confidence to say this when I heard it from the players, that we were all on the same page. I considered our bowling attack and batting depth in these conditions before saying it.

"I said that we have to win these two Tests. We have to believe in it. We came here with this in mind. We didn't think about the outcome. As long as we are in the present, we are going to be okay. What we need to do in that moment, we should understand that. I think the bowlers and fielders got stuck into their responsibilities quite well."

The Bangladesh team came in for some severe criticism recently following their below-par showing in the 2023 World Cup. While the victory against New Zealand will come as a respite, Najmul doesn't want to get carried away.

"Nothing has changed. There will be talk outside. Now that we won, they will say nice things. When we will lose, they will criticise us. It is beyond our control. We don't even think about it. We think about the process, and try to stick to it regularly. We won today but it wasn't a perfect game. We have to talk about our mistakes and then take it forward."

During this game, Najmul became the first Bangladesh player to score a century on debut as Test captain. Speaking about his approach he said the focus was on playing positive cricket and responding to the situation.

"It is important to understand that I was batting for my team. They set attacking fields so I had boundary options. It is not easy to defend for a long time on this wicket. When they had fielders in front of me, I attacked them. When they had in-out field, I played defensive shots. I shifted back to my normal gameplan to avoid risky shots. When they attacked again, I went for the runs. Plans change according to the situation. They attacked in the first innings so I batted according to my plan," he said

"I was quite clear about my approach. They set close-in fields so I played low-risk shots. Some may have thought those are high-risk shots. If I didn't connect those shots, they would still go to the boundary over the fielder's head. It was my gameplan. It seemed like I batted very responsibly in the second innings. I had similar plans. When they pushed the fielders back, I didn't think it was necessary to hit fours and sixes over the fielders. I batted in a low-risk manner. A batter has to bat according to the situation.