Humble Rishad Shines on His Best Day

It was Rishad Hossain’s day in Mirpur. The young leg-spinner produced a match-winning performance against the West Indies — claiming his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs, finishing with stunning figures of 6 for 35, and later smashing a quick 26 off 13 balls with the bat. Unsurprisingly, he was named Player of the Match in Bangladesh’s commanding 74-run victory in the series opener.

Despite his heroics, the soft-spoken spinner remained as humble as ever. Speaking briefly at the post-match press conference, Rishad said,

“Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me this. That’s all I can say.”

Rishad was the chief architect behind Bangladesh’s win — not just with the ball, but also with the bat. Coming in at No. 8, he struck two sixes and a four in his 13-ball cameo that helped Bangladesh cross the 200-run mark and finish on 207 all out.

Reflecting on his batting approach, the 22-year-old explained, “Whenever I go out to bat, I try to add those extra runs. If the team can go from 180 to 210–215, that’s a big difference. I always think about what the team needs and try to do that.”

In reply, West Indies were bowled out for 133, completely undone by Rishad’s spin magic. His 6 for 35 not only dismantled the visitors but also marked his career-best bowling performance. Yet, the young leggie downplayed the achievement, “There’s nothing much to say. It’s my job, and I just tried to do it as best as I could. Others were struggling a bit today, so I tried to step up.”

West Indies captain Shai Hope admitted that his batters were rattled by Rishad’s accuracy and variations. “The pitch definitely offered help to the spinners,” Hope said after the match. “Rishad bowled with excellent line and length — it made it really hard for our batters to build consistency.”

Still, the West Indies skipper refused to lose heart despite the defeat, “You must always believe you can chase any target, no matter the opponent. Even if a team scores 500 in 50 overs, you have to believe you can get it — and we did.”

The second ODI will be played on October 21 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, where Bangladesh will look to seal the series at home with another confident performance.