In their opening match of the Asia Cup Super Four at the Gaddafi Stadium, Bangladesh batting unit made poor judgment calls against Pakistan, according to Nick Pothas, assistant coach for Bangladesh.
Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets thanks to their bowling unit’s ruthless bowling performance, which reduced Bangladesh to 193 runs in 38.4 overs.
Shakib al Hasan, the captain, and Mushfiqur Rahim each scored fifty runs, but their partnership of 100 runs for the fifth wicket was insufficient; only if they had been able to stay at the crease for a longer period of time rather than trying to be too daring would they have been able to post a score that was competitive.
Other than that time, despite having a few batsmen get starts (Mohammad Naim (20), Litton Das (16), Shamim Hossain (16), and Afif Hossain (12)), Bangladesh’s batters were never able to dominate the opposition’s bowlers. The late-order batsmen also failed to take advantage of the opportunity despite having remaining overs.
“Today, making decisions was the key to successful batting. Pothas told reporters after the game in Lahore, “We definitely didn’t make the correct judgments at the right time under these circumstances, but that’s always going to be a difficulty for a club that is just starting through transition.
“It’s just about some consistency, not looking too far ahead. We most likely didn’t perform at our best in Kandy, but we played quite well against Afghanistan before that, and tonight. We are a team that is in transition right now, and we are searching for the best combination for us. Therefore, I think the objective would be some consistency at the time, he remarked.
“Of course, you want to score runs when you win the toss and choose to bat first, but you’re also talking about an excellent bowling attack. The decision we made to defend against that seam attack in the heat is, in my opinion, where we slightly facilitated the attack. When playing against elite seam assaults, it is in the essence of cricket to bat far deeper than that and put a score on the board. Yes, we need to improve in that area, but if it were that simple, everyone would be doing it, he added, noting that modern cricket’s aggressive batting style is a result of losing early wickets.
“All the teams are doing that, and I don’t think it’s anything new (playing aggressively in the powerplay despite losing early wickets). That is what T20 cricket has done, he remarked.
“I believe that any team, and if you take a look at all of the teams in the Asia Cup, there won’t be any differences in the World Cup, that all batters and bowlers are aiming for an advantage, and that all of the teams will come out strong during the first power play. Therefore, it is not something that we do; rather, in my opinion, it is simply the way that cricket is currently conducted, he continued.
On September 9, Bangladesh will play Sri Lanka in Colombo.