NEWS
Follow UsBangladesh scraped through to victory against Nepal following yet another superb performance with the ball. That has become the trend this T20 World Cup, with bowlers winning teams the matches while questions are asked of the batters.
That was the case in St Vincent as well. Bangladesh managed to put up just 106 on the board, but it was their bowlers, led by Tanzmim Hasan Sakib, who finished with 4/7. Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto feels that their batting is a cause for concern leading into the Super Eights.
Bangladesh were reduced to 31/4 in the powerplay, and it was their middle and lower-order that took them past 100. "Of course, it is a reason for me to worry. I don't think it is a good thing for the team to bat like this," Shanto said at the post-match press conference.
"The start is very important. We are not getting the start and the lower-order batsmen are not finishing it well. So, it's a matter of concern. But we have to come out of this. We have to think about how to come out of this. But still, this mistake is happening again and again. But I can say that I hope that we can reduce these mistakes in the next round."
Shanto felt his side should have scored 140-150 despite the wicket being a tricky one. "To be very honest, I think the wicket is not the issue. This wicket was a wicket where you can score 140-150 runs maybe which we could not do. So, it is definitely a reason for us to worry," he said.
The Bangladesh captain also praised Tanzim and Mustafizur Rahman (3/7) for the way they went about their business. "Tanzim started very well in the powerplay, and he bowled really well in his consecutive 4 overs," Shanto said.
"Mustafiz's 19th over, maiden over - maiden wicket, I mean, the way the whole bowling unit bowled was great. I would give credit to the fielders. The way they saved a couple of boundaries, especially Rishad [Hossain], took some catches on the point and saved some boundaries as well. So, overall, I think the bowling and fielding was great and everyone had the faith that we could win."
While they did pip Nepal, Shanto hopes that they will come back stronger in the next World Cup.
"I think all the Nepal, Scotland, Netherlands, I think everyone played some very good cricket. I think all 20 teams are competitive looks like everyone wanted to win here, and that is good for cricket, and yeah, last two matches, Nepal the way they played looks very well, and I hope they will come back strongly next World Cup, "Shanto, who has scored just 26 runs in four innings at a strike rate of under 60, said.
With this win, Bangladesh made it through to the Super Eights and will be up against Australia in their first match of the round on June 20 (Thursday) in St Lucia.
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