BAN vs SL, Asia Cup: 'If we had made a proper plan and been a little more focussed as a batting unit at the start...': Bangladesh's Jaker Ali slams top-order after defeat to Sri Lanka

Bangladesh’s middle-order batter Jaker Ali has blamed top order’s lack of application for the comprehensive loss to Sri Lanka in their T20 Asia Cup 2025 clash on September 13. Bangladesh opener departed without troubling the scorers. They were 11/3 in 4.3 overs. Skipper Litton Das tried to do some damage control but he lost his wicket in the 10th over. From 53/5, Ali and Shamim Hossain's unbeaten 86-run partnership took Bangladesh to a respectable total of 139/5.

After the defeat, Ali rued the underutilisation of the powerplay overs. He feels that the one-dimension approach of allout attack is not needed. He feels that the batters needed a proper plan as a unit.

"I believe that the openers and the No. 3 batter are very important for our team. We are very mindful of this and they must be cautious in this regard," Jaker told reporters after the game.

"But that does not mean they have to go for fours and sixes every ball in the PowerPlay. Drop and run, rotating strike, these things should be in mind. I am sure they will think about it and do better in the next match.

"That (failing in PowerPlay) is something they (top-order) can answer better but I feel if we had made a proper plan and been a little more focussed as a batting unit at the start, it would have been better.

"Batting unit means everyone. Just because I played well or Patowari (Shamim) played well does not mean only we did well. Together we batted poorly, and together we lost.”

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Ali remained unbeaten for 41 off 34 balls, including two fours. On the other hand, Shamim scored one run more from same number of deliveries. Shamim hit the only six of the innings, accompanied by three fours.

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Ali not giving up ‘Super Fours’ qualification hope

While Bangladesh's net run rate (NRR) took a beating, they haven't lost hope ahead of facing Afghanistan.

"There is no question of giving up hope. We will play to win. We went into this match with that mentality, but it did not happen. In the next match also, we will play with the mentality to win. There is no other way.

"We did not come to the tournament just to play matches. We came to be champions. Losing one game does not mean losing hope. We will definitely play to win," he added.

Bangladesh's last league stage clash will be played on September 16 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium. They will need a big win to qualify for the Super Fours.