‘Important that a set batsman stays’
Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad had suggested before the second T20I against India that they would take the field with a positive and aggressive approach. While the Tigers did get off to a good start, regular fall of wickets saw them fall short of a par score on a good wicket. After the thumping eight-wicket loss, Mahmudullah rued the fact that set batsmen gifted wickets yesterday after showing maturity during the last T20I in Delhi on Sunday.
“The openers gave us a great start. It was a 170-180 wicket. When we lost Soumya’s wicket, we took a bit of time in the middle. I think that cost us in the middle overs,” he cited, referring to the loss of two wickets -- those of Mushfiqur Rahim and Soumya -- in the 13th over that turned the tide of the game towards India.
Liton Das was connecting well from the off and looked to be in control as Bangladesh reached 54 without loss in the Powerplay. Despite getting two lives, Liton fell to a rash run-out.
“Liton always plays aggressively and on his day, he will probably carry the team by himself. I am hopeful that we will get that day very soon. It’s not that he isn’t consistent. He’s an opener and we expect that he will play a big innings. I hope he will realise his mistakes and score better in the next match,” Mahmudullah said.
The story of Bangladesh’s innings was that batsmen got starts but did not go on to contribute in a big way. Even on a flat wicket, it was difficult to score runs quickly without getting in, thus new batsmen could not come in and provide the thrust.
“It is important that a set batsman stays at the wicket for 15 to 16 overs on this kind of wicket. If you look at their batting, Rohit [Sharma] carried them with 85 today. If an innings like that came from our top order, maybe we could have scored more.
“Yes, in the last five overs we did have five wickets in hand and we didn’t score runs. We have to commend how they bowled as well. If we could pierce the gaps, given the fast outfield we could have had some more,” Mahmudullah said.
After showing a calm demeanour in the previous match and the ability to take the game deep, the Tigers lost the plot in this game. They often looked to score off Yuzvendra Chahal, India’s main strike bowler.
“We didn’t recognise what we needed to do in that particular moment and fell short.”
Mahmudullah was not thinking negatively yet and said Bangladesh must keep their heads up and recover from this defeat. “Obviously, their [India’s] confidence will be high after this performance but I don’t think we will be lacking in self-confidence. We have shown in the first match that we can play well and it’s important not to lose that self-confidence. We have to believe that and think of ways we can win the next game.”