'One ball the difference'
It was a kind of day on the field that saw just one ball separate the two teams and at the end of the day it was the team that best handled their nerves that won the game. At the end of such a close game it was only natural for captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to feel gutted.
“Everyone is upset and everyone feels bad that we went so close against the number one team and lost by just two runs. I think we were equal throughout the game but lost because of just a ball,” said Mashrafe at the post-match press conference.
Bangladesh lost three wickets for 27 runs between overs 14 to 18 and that was one of the turning points of the game according to the stand-in captain.
“We lost wickets at a time when we were accelerating. That's where we went behind a bit. While we did recover in the end, the ending was unfortunate. We even scored 10 to 12 runs against Malinga which is really difficult to do,” said Mashrafe.
Nasir Hossain, who has generally managed to finish harder games for Bangladesh, was held down the ground in what was another crucial moment in the game.
“Nasir has played this sort of a match before and won it for us. But actually anything can happen. The shot he played could have gone for a six. Sometimes it doesn't go your way,” said Mashrafe.
With 17 runs required in the over Anamul Haque unleashed some of the best shots in his armoury and brought the game down to three required of one before losing his wicket to a full toss -- an anti-climax to what was a heroic start to the over.
“Our platform was ready. The set batsman was at the crease and the bowler was under pressure because of the boundaries. It was unfortunate the way he got out to a full toss, despite having hit better balls outside the park. I don't have a word to explain this but this is what happens, there is a bit of luck involved.
“There's no doubt that we played well today. Our fielding was excellent and in this format fielding has a big effect. Arafat Sunny came in and bowled well for his first match and so did Bijoy after getting dropped in the Tests,” he said.
In contrast, Kusal Perera, whose hard-hitting half-century won the game for the visitors, was all charged-up.
“This was not an easy bowling attack. The Bangladeshis like to play T20 cricket. My strategy was to take some calculated risks in the first few overs and then try to bat on till the end,” said Kusal.
Despite defending the target Perera thought that they were 10-15 runs short of a very good total and expects to do better in the next game.
The batsman who has a batting style very much similar to Sanath Jayasuriya, however did not want get into any sort of comparison.
“I am Kusal and he is Sanath, a legend. I can't always copy him and neither do I compare myself to him,” he said.
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