Following the 7-wicket loss to India in the T20I series opener on Sunday, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto admitted that Bangladesh was not able to bat well enough to set even their bowlers a defendable target. Trying to build on the Test team’s aggression in Kanpur, certainly played a part in India’s junior T20I side. After being asked to bat first, batsmen from Bangladesh struggled to score runs against a young Indian bowling attack. The first six overs seemed to be hard work for Bangladesh without any fluent runs scored. The openers failed to convert their chances into runs on the board. Arshdeep Singh struck Bangladesh on two occasions as the visitors managed a meager 39/2 within the first six overs.
Bangladesh’s objective of attempting to adopt “positive cricket” was countered by the Indian bowlers who were relentless with every over. Shanto addressed their struggle in the powerplay and stated that they will approach the second T20I with a proper plan.
“Yes, I think we did not start well. I mean in T20 cricket the first six overs are crucial, but we did not do that well. The intention was to play aggressive cricket, but there were some overs to be controlled and so how we wanted to approach it. We did not seem to have a great deal of plan, but we need to do a proper plan for the next match ” Shanto said during the post-match presentation.
“Most importantly we need to care and do the work of turning the current strike. T20 is not just about going for the big hits. It is possible to get a good score if we are able to manage to keep a few wickets. We did not however perform that well. Rishad was bowling well and so was Fizz, however we did not have enough runs,” he added.
Bangladesh’s dismal performance with the bat was the reason why it was difficult for them to post a high score on the board. But then again a late onslaught of 35 runs not out, courtesy of Mehidy Hasan Miraz ensured that the Bangladesh total reached 127 at least.
In reply team India chased down this target in just 11.5 overs beating them by 7 wickets.
