'Next crop can do better'
Mehedi Hasan Miraz left it to the next generation to fulfil the dream of the countrymen after his side exited from the ICC Under-19 World Cup at the semifinal stage yesterday following a three-wicket defeat to West Indies.
Miraz and Co got their desired opponents in the semifinal but the Caribbean boys dashed their hopes by playing better cricket. Bangladesh skipper Miraz was disappointed as he had a dream of playing the final but believed that playing the semifinal for the first time was itself an achievement for them.
“We made it to the semifinal for the first time. Everyone worked hard and played well. We really wanted to get to the final. Mushfiq bhai's [national Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim] team were fifth [in 2006, Sri Lanka] and now we reached the semifinal and after us, the next generation can better our result,” said Miraz while he was speaking at the post-match press briefing.
When asked where they actually lost the match, Miraz said: “The wicket was slow. We don't play under pressure at this level of cricket. We thought if we score 240-250, it would be difficult for any opposition. We were short by 20 runs. When [Mohammad] Saifuddin and I got out at that time, the runs dropped down. That's where it went wrong for us.”
He however said that they never lost hope. “We believed from the start that we would win. When they hit the second-last four, we knew it was over. Till the point when they needed 10 off 16 balls with three wickets, we had the belief. But had the spinners bowled better we would have stopped them. Their attacking start worked well for them. It reduced the pressure on them.”
Although he dismissed the pressure factor prior to the match, he admitted after the defeat that the pressure was an issue. “As much as we say there's no pressure, there is some at the U-19 level. We never played in front of such a big crowd. We had the pressure from the expectation that we have to win the semifinal. We are still very young. We have to manage all this, and now that we have seen such situations, played in front of big crowds, we will manage it well next time.”
West Indies skipper Shimron Hetmyer on the other hand pointed to their early arrival in the country as a factor behind their success, despite losing all the matches against the home side.
“It's a very big transformation to reach the final after losing 3-0 in the build-up series but I would put it down to the guys. Coming from the West Indies where most of the balls don't spin that much and coming here to Bangladesh where the ball spins, the guys just needed a little time to adjust to the pitches and to the weather, all in one,” said Shimron.
“Very very good feeling for us as we got to the final for the second time. Possibly, if we play as well as we did today, we'll win the final as well. So it's a very, very good feeling for us and for the people back home in the West Indies,” he added.
While West Indies have set up a final against India for February 14, Bangladesh's tournament is not quite over as they will face off against Sri Lanka on February 13 at Fatullah to fight for the third place.
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