'We could have won'
Bangladesh suffered a heartbreaking two-run defeat through Duckworth Lewis method in their ACC Under-19 Asia Cup semifinal fixture against Pakistan in Malaysia on Thursday. However, Bangladesh skipper Saif Hasan believes that his side could have won the rain affected game had it been completed.
In reply to Bangladesh's 274 for six, Pakistan were on 199 for five in 39 overs before rain forced the umpires to call off the encounter and thereby put an end to the young Tigers impressive run in the tournament.
"We dominated the whole game and were ahead till the rain came. But they managed to score 9-10 runs in the previous over which took them ahead and it is unfortunate for us as we don't have control over the weather. If the game was able to be completed then I think we would have won," Saif told reporters.
Going into the competition, there were concerns over Bangladesh's batting department following the home series defeat to Afghanistan and the loss to Nepal.
However, opener Pinak Ghosh, Saif and Afif Hossain scored runs consistently throughout this Asia Cup and will surely be a boost to the side ahead of the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand next year.
Upon returning to Bangladesh yesterday, Saif along with his deputy Afif immediately joined the Bangladesh Premier League outfit Khulna Titans.
"Obviously it's a great platform to get the highest amount of exposure, last year Afif got huge exposure by playing the BPL. The best thing about this tournament is that you will get a lot of exposure if you perform well and I am looking forward to utilising this opportunity," said Saif.
The young left-hander will now be afforded the invaluable opportunity to work under Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene, the incumbent Khulna Titans head coach. Saif also informed that he has already received some instructions from the legendary cricketer on how to improve his batting.
"He is a great batsman and also one of my favourite players as I followed him since my childhood. I will try to learn as much I can from him. He said to me during the net session that as I have returned from a different format I should try to stay busy and rotate the strike. And then I can play my shots and even If I get out there is no problem," Saif added.
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