We all batted badly: Mash
Following yesterday's defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the second and final match of the T20I series, Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha admitted that the Tigers still have 'a long way to go' before they can become consistent in Twenty20 cricket.
Speaking to reporters at the post-match press conference, the Sri Lankan said, "I think we still need to find our best approach and best combination. We are still developing in the T20 format. So in that sense I think we probably have a long way to go to become consistent."
"Individually, players should understand how to build a T20 innings. I don't think we have found our way yet. In the next two months we need to do a lot of work on our approach and mindset.
"I think we have the skill, if we didn't then we would not have been able to win the ODIs. But it's all about the approach," he added.
When asked if the way the Tigers played in the T20I series was a concern considering that the Asia Cup T20 and the ICC World T20 are around the corner, Hathurusingha said, "Yeah it's an uphill task for us because we don't have much T20 matches coming up. And as a team we can't blame the players either since we haven't played much T20 cricket leading up to this.
"Even in domestic cricket the last time we played a T20 tournament was back in 2013. So unless you play you don't find the approach. It's a big task but it's not impossible. We were in the same situation before the World Cup in Australia, but we were competitive till the end. We will find a way to come back from here," he added.
Speaking about yesterday's match, skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza felt that his batters could have put up a much better performance.
"The wicket was actually not that easy to bat on, but even then we should have scored more than 130. Around 150 would have been a good total. Personally I think we played badly as a team," said Mashrafe.
When most of the top-order failed, Anamul Haque persevered with a 51-ball 47. And while the batsman ended up posting the highest total, he also played the most dot balls and failed to accelerate in the later stage. On the whole Bangladesh had 53 dot balls in the match.
However, Mashrafe refused to put the blame on Anamul.
"We lost today but one can't just single out one player. You have to understand that he was playing international cricket after a long time and some of his shots weren't working. Yes we are disappointed, but I personally feel we all batted badly," concluded Mashrafe.