Mushtaq rues Bangladesh's lack of intent in run chase

Bangladesh spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed lamented the lack of intent from his batters during their 37-run defeat to Pakistan in the opening T20I of the three-match series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday.

Chasing a daunting target of 202, the Tigers faltered early, managing only 45 for two in the Powerplay. The situation worsened as the innings progressed, with the visitors scraping together just 81 runs for four wickets in the next 10 overs, effectively handing Pakistan the upper hand.

"Intent in T20s has to be there. When you are chasing 200 runs, you can't let the required run rate go over 13. If you take the average at 13, it will be tough for you," Mushtaq told reporters after the match.

"If you lose one wicket then there will be a new batsman and it will be tough for him. Tactically we were less smart today. It doesn't mean our batters can't score or chase 200 runs.

"The way Liton started, it seemed the game would be on our side. But 13-14 runs per over is too much. So as coaches, we need to speak to them and hopefully let them know to have better intent in the middle overs," he said, adding that Towhid Hridoy didn't get momentum in the innings.

Although the required run rate was almost 11 at the time when Hridoy arrived at the crease, the right-hander played a bizarre innings of 22-ball 17 and put the pressure on other batters in the big run chase.

"I think today he didn't get the momentum. But he is a very good player. He is a match-changer. When he strikes the ball, he strikes the ball very nicely. In the recent past, he has scored lots of good innings for Bangladesh. So hopefully he can learn from this pitch where the best option can be," said Mushtaq, who felt that Liton might have had more confidence in his spinners than pacers on that day, which is why he opted to bowl part-timer Shamim Hossain over their pacers Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Hasan Mahmud, with none of them completing their allotted four overs.

"I haven't spoken to him yet. But I think the pitch earlier on was tacky. It was swinging earlier on. It was a little bit on the slower side when we started. You saw Saim or Fakhar's dismissal. The ball was swinging, drifted a bit and obviously it was a tacky pitch for the first five-six overs.

"Then the pitch became better and better all the time. I think Liton might have felt confident about the spinners and that's why Shamim bowled four overs and he bowled really well. He brought us into the game. I was very impressed because this is my first time watching him [bowl]. There is a positive thing Bangladesh can see today—he can be a very good sixth bowler," he said, adding that they must learn from the mistakes of the first game.

"We didn't have two of our main fast bowlers—Taskin and Mustafizur. But still Shoriful gave us a good start. Then what Pakistan did today, I would say they had a good intent. Credit goes to them. But we have to learn from our mistakes. We have the potential to come back very hard," Mushtaq concluded.

The second match of the series will be held at the same venue on Friday.