Pak vs Ban: Hasan Ali pleased after bouncing back from dismal T20 World Cup show

• Hasan Ali was instrumental in Pakistan's victory over Bangladesh yesterday.
• Hasan Ali concedes his performance in T20 World Cup was not up to the mark, says hard work paying off now. 
•  Bangladesh always prove tough customers at home, he says. 

Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali Friday dedicated his Player of the Match award to the fans who supported him through thick and thin. 

Hasan Ali was instrumental in Pakistan's victory over Bangladesh a day earlier, finishing up with figures of 3/22. His cutters and accurate bowling kept the Bangladeshi batsmen at bay, who were unable to post a huge total against Pakistan. 

In a post-match interview, the right-arm fast bowler conceded his performance during the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup was not up to the mark. 

"I admit that fans were expecting top-notch performance from me in the World Cup T20," he said. "Despite my efforts, I failed to put up a decent show. Sometimes in cricket, you cannot showcase your best efforts. I was struggling a bit with no balls and that was the reason I conceded too many runs and even was not taking wickets," he added. 

However, Hasan said he is happy with his performance now, adding that his hard work is paying off. "I dedicate this award to the fans who stayed behind me during tough times.”

The Pakistani bowler acknowledged that beating Bangladesh at home is never an easy task, as he recalled Bangladesh's victories over Australia and New Zealand in the T20 format. 

"They always prove tough customers at home. Here again, they put up a better show only to see Pakistan winning at the end," he added. 

Hasan Ali was happy that since the past couple of matches, a new Pakistani player was being awarded the Player of the Match award. Hasan said this encouraged "healthy competition" in the team as each player wanted to showcase his skill to bag the award. 

Pakistan recovered from a top-order collapse to beat Bangladesh by four wickets in the first T20 international of their three-match series Friday.

The visitors had restricted Bangladesh to a measly 127-7 as the hosts won the toss and elected to bat first at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Fast bowler Hasan Ali had picked up 3-22 and right-arm medium pacer Mohammad Wasim Jr 2-24 for the visitors as Afif Hossain top-scored with 36 off 34 balls for Bangladesh.