Bangladesh opening batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto hailed his maiden fifty as a special one that he made against Zimbabwe in the Super 12 of the ICC T20 World Cup at the Gabba on Sunday.

Prior to coming to the ongoing edition of the global event the left hander featured in 14 T20Is where he scored 40 as his highest against the touring Pakistan in November, last year.

The opener outperformed himself in the tie against a spirited Zimbabwe, hitting a 55-ball 71 that gave the Tigers a relieved 3-run victory in the last ball thriller to keep their last-four dream alive.

‘Of course it is special for me as it was my maiden fifty. The thing that happened to me earlier was that I got started in several innings but couldn’t make it long. But today I had the commitment within me to enlarge it once I was set and I could make it,’ said Shanto in the post-match press conference.

With Shanto hitting his career-best 71, eventually it helped the Tigers to post a moderate 150-7 that they defended quite adroitly after Taskin Ahmed scalped 3-19.

The 24-year-old believes that the victory they bagged, would boost their morale and they are aiming to carry it in the forthcoming games as well.

‘See, winning a game intensifies morale. Our team was in better condition from the very beginning. And we would be able to carry that confidence into the next ties.’

He further acknowledged they have a lot more to improve in different departments.

‘There is an inevitability to our progression in this game as well, and it would also lessen our errors in the upcoming game.’

He ended with promising to go match by match in their remaining games of the showpiece event.

‘We want to go match by match and think only about that.