Towhid Hridoy played a steady hand to guide Bangladesh home in their first Asia Cup victory of the season, remaining unbeaten on 35 off 36 balls as his side chased down 144 in 17.4 overs against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
While skipper Litton Das set the tone with a brilliant half-century, Hridoy anchored the innings alongside him. He stayed till the end to ensure there were no hiccups in the chase.
Hridoy admitted he had thoughts about finishing the game quickly, but stressed that the result mattered most.
"We could have finished the game earlier but we stuck to the demand of the situation. Our mentality is to always win," Hridoy said after the match, defending Bangladesh's cautious chase.
"We want to beat Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, so run-rate isn't what we are worried about at this stage. We don't want to complicate matters so early in the tournament,” he added.
Hridoy also admitted the slow track made batting tricky. "The ball was gripping. We are not used to playing on this type of wicket but we adapted well," he said.
"We could have finished the game earlier. I tried to play a few shots but couldn't connect. Maybe we could have wrapped it up one or two overs earlier, but in the end the result is important," he added.
His composure in the middle overs proved crucial, as Bangladesh sealed a comfortable win to open their campaign on a positive note.
Earlier, Bangladesh lost both openers Parvez Hossain Emon (19) and Tanzid Hasan (14) cheaply before Litton and Towhid Hridoy stitched a decisive 95-run partnership. Litton Das was the Player of the Match for his brilliant 59.
For Hong Kong, Ateeq Iqbal returned figures of 2/14, but it wasn't enough to stop Bangladesh from clinching their first win of the tournament.
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