Published on 01:52 PM, December 19, 2023

Hathurusingha asks media for remedy for batting woes

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Photo: BCB

Bangladesh batters were guilty of throwing away their wickets after getting starts in the first ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand in Dunedin on Sunday, a match they lost by 44 runs in DLS method.

Coach Chandika Hathurusingha was puzzled by his batters' tendency to not convert good starts and when asked about the issue, the Sri Lankan jokingly asked the media if they had any solution to this problem.

"It's a big concern. If you have the answer, let me know, I'll talk to them. It's a very big concern," Hathurusingha told the Bangladeshi media contingent in Nelson today.

Bangladesh are now in Nelson, where they will take on the hosts for the second ODI tomorrow.

The sunny weather in Nelson was a pleasant change of pace for the Tigers after playing the first match in gloomy conditions in Dunedin.

The first ODI was interrupted multiple times by rain during the first innings, which disrupted captain Najmul Hossain Shanto's plans and left him with no choice but to use Soumya Sarkar and Mehedi Hasan Miraz in the final overs.

The Kiwis cashed in on those final overs toset a 245-run target, which proved to be too much for the Tigers.

Hathurusingha pointed out the role the weather played in the outcome of the first match while also criticising his bowlers for taking full toll of the helpful conditions.

"Losing the game was disappointing. But we couldn't do much about the weather. A lot of our planning was affected by the rain interruptions, two stoppages.

"We started really well but we could've bowled much better at the other end. We didn't utilise the condition at that time. Two stoppages put captain under pressure to handle the bowlers. They had eight wickets in hand with 10 overs to go. We were always chasing the game."