Playing 47 dot balls was criminal: Netherlands head coach Cook

Netherlands head coach Ryan Cook did not mince words after his side's lacklustre batting display in the opening T20I of the three-match series against Bangladesh, pointing to poor intent and an excessive number of dot balls as the main reasons behind their downfall in Sylhet on Saturday.

"The intent with the bat was the biggest issue, especially the number of dot balls -- about 47 in total, which is criminal on a wicket like this," Cook said after the game. "Credit to the Bangladeshi bowlers and fielders, but we definitely need to improve that."

Sent in to bat first, the visitors began brightly with opener Max O'Dowd racing to 23 off 15 balls. But once he fell in the fourth over with the team on 25, the Dutch innings lost momentum. They limped to 136-8 in their 20 overs, with a staggering 43 percent of their deliveries resulting in dot balls, a stark contrast to Bangladesh's 27 percent.

Bangladesh made light work of the chase, cruising home in just 13.3 overs as skipper Liton Das smashed an unbeaten 54 off 29 deliveries.

Cook lamented his side's inability to build partnerships or capitalise on fielding restriction in the Powerplay.

"I thought we brought it to a pretty good start, 25 after three overs, and then losing the wicket of Max set us back. Those next few overs we didn't really capitalise. Once you have a Powerplay of only 34, it's difficult to get a big score without taking some big risks," said the South African, who previously worked as Bangladesh's fielding coach.

Cook reserved praise for the Bangladesh attack, particularly Taskin Ahmed, whose four-wicket haul (4-28) dismantled the Dutch. Taskin removed both openers early, then struck twice at the death, registering his third career T20I four-wicket haul and his second against the Netherlands.

"Taskin's a wonderful bowler. He always seems to trouble our top order no matter where we play," Cook said. "He's getting better every time I see him. He's a big threat with the new ball, bowled really good tight lines today, and was rewarded."