Mirpur-
Bangladesh fell 140 runs short of their expected first innings score, according to Shakib Al Hasan. The allrounder made his 15th half-century, and alongside Mushfiqur Rahim, gave the total some propriety as it was descending swiftly at one stage.
The openers almost played out the first hour until one bad shot was followed by errors in judgment, opening up the game as early as the first drinks break. Shakib felt that it should have been the other way around, as the Mirpur surface didn’t have any devils.
“I thought the wicket was good when I was batting,” Shakib said. “If we had batted to our usual ability, we could have scored 375 in the first innings. We are behind in the game now, mainly because it is hard to get wickets in this surface, and scoring runs is becoming easier.”
Shakib explained that it wasn’t just bad batting or great bowling, but a combination which saw the first four wickets lost for 59 runs. Shakib and captain Mushfiqur Rahim added 86 for the fifth wicket but once they were dismissed, the home side were wrapped up for a low score. “When we started well, it didn’t seem like the batsmen were having problems. Nobody said this in the dressing room, even after getting out.
“It was a combination of them bowling well and mistakes from us. We should have batted better, particularly due to the standards we have reached. We batted quite well in the first eight overs.”
Shakib was sure that the short ball was handled better and although he didn’t publicly complain about the umpiring, he did convey what Nasir Hossain had said after his dismissal. There was also some doubt about the Marshall Ayub and Mushfiqur Rahim leg-before decision. “Nasir told us that it hit his arm.”
Shakib added: “TV replays can suggest something different. But in real time it is a little difficult to comment on such things. I played a bad shot, and we made a few mistakes too. The batsmen were not missing too many balls, or getting beaten. But it has happened, and now the responsibility is with the bowlers.”
-AGENCIES
