Positive frame of mind key for Soumya

Despite a negative result for Bangladesh in the seven-wicket loss against New Zealand in Nelson on Wednesday, Tigers batter Soumya Sarker's word of the day was 'positivity' as he said he employed that frame of mind to stay level-headed during tumultuous times as a cricketer following his scintillating 151-ball 169-run knock in the loss.

Despite Soumya's record-breaking ton --that saw him surpass Sachin Tendulkar's 163 not out against New Zealand in 2009 to make the highest individual score by an Asian batter in New Zealand—Bangladesh failed to put a stop to their wretched ODI record in the country where they have now lost all of their 18 previous 50-over matches against the Black Caps.

The 30-year-old made his third ODI ton which was his first in almost five years. In these years, however, the left-handed batter has featured for the Tigers in only seven ODIs, that too on an irregular basis owing to a torrid run of form. 

A regular subject of heavy trolling on social media, Soumya came under scrutiny after being dismissed for a duck in the first ODI of the series following an afternoon to forget with the ball in hand. 

When asked about harsh criticisms and trolling on social media, Soumya said he embraced positivity to always have a grasp of the task at hand and used that frame of mind to stay away from it all. 

"I used to see those (memes and trolls) before. Nowadays, to be honest, I have no news coming to me through my phone. If any of my friends talks about cricket with me then I don't stay with that friend. Whoever talks positively, I stay with that person," Soumya told the reporters on Wednesday.

"Good and bad times will be there but if my performance is poor then I can't just leave cricket since I am a cricketer. I have come this far because of cricket. I am working hard for cricket and my thoughts are about cricket," he added.