Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said that it was a bit slippery when the match was reduced after rain in the clash against India at the T20 World Cup 2022. Shakib suggested that they should not make any excuse for the defeat as the slippery surface usually works in the batting team’s favour.
India set a 185-run target in front of Bangladesh as Virat Kohli (64*) and KL Rahul (50) score crucial half-centuries for their team. Bangladesh were off to a flyer courtesy of a quickfire fifty from Liton Das, they were 66/0 in 7 overs when the rain stopped play.
The equation changed to 151 in 16 overs when the game resumed. The rain break worked well in India’s favour as Rahul’s brilliant run-out of Das post-rain break triggered a Bangladesh meltdown as they could make only 79 runs in the remaining nine overs, losing six wickets.
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During the post-match press conference, Shakib was in no mood to make any excuse after his team’s defeat at Adelaide Oval.
“It was a little slippery. The amount of rain it was, it was a little slippery. Normally that suits batting side rather than bowling side. We shouldn’t make that an excuse,” Shakib said.
When the match was stopped due to rain, Bangladesh were 17 run ahead via the DLS method without losing any wicket. Shakib said that the Bangladesh team wanted to complete the game and wanted to win and nobody thought it was unfair to them when the match was resumed.
“No one talked about it’s fair or it’s unfair. I don’t think anyone in our dressing room talked about it. We wanted to play, we wanted to win, we tried our best but unfortunately we came short,” he said.
The veteran Bangladesh all-rounder heaped praise on Indian batting maverick Virat Kohli and said he can win matches single-handedly.
“I thought Taskin Ahmed had the best opportunity to get Virat Kohli out. The ball went pass the bat when Taskin was bowling. Unfortunately, it wasn’t his luck and he failed to take the wicket. The way Virat Kohli at this moment playing every team will make plans for him, it just which it works or which day it doesn’t. The way Virat is batting he can win matches single-handedly,” Shakib said.
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Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh had a tricky task to defend 20 runs in the final over and he got hit for a six on the second ball, but the left-arm pacer bounced back and won the match for his team.
Shakib talked highly of the left-arm Indian pacer and said that he is one of the few bowlers in world cricket at the moment who can swing the ball both ways.
“Arshdeep Singh is a great prospect for India. He can swing the ball both ways. There are very less players who can swing it both ways in world cricket at the moment. I hope he plays for India for a long time, ” Shakib said.
The Bangladesh skipper also talked about the close defeat and admitted that it was the combination of both – lack of experience and panicking which cost them the match.
“In the dressing room, we were pretty relaxed, we knew what was coming our way. When we got the revised target, you will take that when you have 10 wickets in your hands and know Bhuvneshwar’s overs were almost done. You take that challenge and look to chase that down. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it. It could be a combination of both – lack of experience and panicking,” he added.
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