‘One step closer to the final’: Saif after special knock

As he walked out of the press conference with a broad smile, Saif Hassan looked like a man finally free of the burden of proving himself.

Long seen as a batter suited only for the longer formats, his inclusion in Bangladesh's T20 squad once raised eyebrows. But on Saturday night in Dubai, the 26-year-old right-hander silenced doubts in style.

Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by four wickets in their Asia Cup Super Four clash, chasing down 169. At the heart of the win was Saif, who struck a match-winning 61 off 45 balls—his maiden T20 fifty. For a player who had to wait for his chance after Parvez Hossain Emon's failure, the innings was a career-defining breakthrough.

Bangladesh lost a wicket in the very first over, but unlike previous occasions when early setbacks triggered collapses, Saif chose aggression. Alongside captain Litton Das, he counterattacked to blunt Sri Lanka's bowlers and keep Bangladesh in control.

"At the start, our plan was clear—no going into a shell after losing a wicket. We decided to counterattack," Saif said afterwards. "My communication with Litton da [Litton Das] was very good. He could anticipate what was coming, and that helped a lot."

Though his mother is Sri Lankan, Saif brushed off suggestions that the opposition carried any extra emotion for him. Instead, he emphasised the significance of the knock for his own career.
"Nothing like that," he said with a smile. "But today's innings was definitely special. I could contribute for the team. Hopefully, I can do even better in the future."

With two matches remaining in the Super Four—against India on September 24 and Pakistan on September 25—Bangladesh's campaign is alive and glowing with hope. The team had declared before arriving in Dubai that their target was the final, and Saif now believes that dream is within reach.

"Yes, definitely. Before coming here, everyone believed that we would play the final. We are one step closer to the final. Still, two matches are remaining. The next focus is only on the next match [against India]," he said.

Then came the note of ambition. "Definitely [time to dream big], one should dream. One should dream big. But we should proceed step by step. Our next focus will be fully on the match against India. We'll think about the match after that later."