Jaker Ali believes in runs that win matches while the runs made otherwise do not make much of a difference.
Jaker Ali: ‘I only count match-winning runs, the rest doesn’t register’.
Jaker Ali and Mahedi Hasan were given definite batting duties in captain Litton Das’ Plan B after the team lost early wickets in the second Twenty20 International against Pakistan. Jaker claimed that Litton’s message immediately before he batted placed him in the correct frame of mind. Jaker was named Player of the Match for his 55 in 48 balls to give Bangladesh the series with a game remaining.
After being called in to bat by Pakistani captain Salman Agha, Bangladesh fell to 28 for 4 inside the powerplay. To put Bangladesh out of difficulty, Jaker and Mahedi contributed 53 runs for the fifth wicket. With two sixes and two fours in his 25-ball score of 33, Mahedi was the first to attack. Jaker, on the other hand, persevered till the end.
“The captain had given me a separate plan after we lost wickets quickly,” Jaker said. “We had come into the game knowing that the conditions wouldn’t allow for a high-scoring match. I thought it was a 155-160 wicket, but the captain told me to go for 140. I think we were seven runs short. If I had hit a six off the last ball, we would have given them that target. I think this is a good approach, where I know my goal.”
“[Mahedi] played a very important innings. When he started to attack their bowlers, I was playing a supporting role,” Jaker Ali said. “We could have had a bigger score had he been there till the end.”
Bangladesh was 81 for 5 after Mahedi was dismissed, and shortly after that, they were 111 for 8. Jaker Ali hit five sixes and a four in his innings, which concluded off the final ball of the innings, but he had to farm the strike a little bit while the lower-order batsmen were with him.
“I have always batted at No. 7 since my age-group days, so I know how to bat with the tail,” he said. “I once added 71 runs with the tail to score a century in the Under-17s. I don’t worry too much about batting with the tail. I just try to save the guy at the other end, and get the runs.”
“I knew well ahead that I would bat at No. 5. I was mentally prepared. I batted in this position in the West Indies too,” he said. “I stuck to my usual routines. I have been working at it for the last two years with our batting coach [Mohammad Salahuddin]. I only count match-winning runs. The rest doesn’t register with me.”