DHAKA Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan said his team’s nine-wicket rout by the West Indies on Friday was the “worst day” of his career, but insisted his side’s World Cup campaign was not over. “We did not play well at all,” said Shakib after Bangladesh were shot out for their lowest one-day total of 58 in just 18.5 overs, with the West Indies cantering home in the 13th over of their innings.
“I did not expect that we would play so badly. This has to be the worst day of my career.” A sell-out crowd of 25,000 packed into the Sher-e-Bangla stadium saw the day-night match come to an end even before the lights came on, jeering the home team and throwing paper placards on the field to show their disgust. “I am not surprised they were angry, they have every right to be,” said Shakib.
“They expect a lot from us because we have done well over the past few years. But I did not think we were capable of such a defeat. Our fans expect us to win games against good teams, especially at home. We just did not play good cricket at all. Nothing went right other than winning the toss,” he said.
Bangladesh’s score was well short of their previous low of 74 against Australia in Darwin in 2008 and was also the fourth lowest total in World Cup history. The World Cup co-hosts, with one win from three games in Group B, were left with a mountain to climb to stay in contention for the quarter-finals. They face England, South Africa and the Netherlands in their remaining group matches.
But Shakib said Bangladesh were not yet out of the race. “It is definitely possible to come back,” he said. “If you win two out of three matches, we may still qualify. I know it will be hard to come back after losing this game. “But the boys know they are capable of coming back strongly. They have done it before, so why not this time?”
