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Bangladesh on May 21 suffered their first ever T20I defeat against the USA. The co-hosts of T20 World Cup 2024 did not let the visiting batters post a big total on the board. USA batting lineup struggled but former India all-rounder Harmeet Singh and former New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson took them over the line with three balls to spare.
After the shocking defeat, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto blamed batters for the loss as they set a target of 154 at the Prairie View Cricket Complex, Houston. He feels that the pitches of Zimbabwe are one of the reasons behind batters being short on confidence.
“We didn't bat well. We started well but in the middle lost a couple of wickets. We needed to score more and then it could have been defended. We didn't play on good wickets in Zimbabwe, so the batters are struggling. But it is a mental thing and the batters can come back,” Shanto said in the post-match presentation.
USA captain Monank Patel won the toss and opted to field first. Bangladesh batters failed to utilise the powerplay overs. Ali Khan and Jessy Singh were the only two bowlers they targetted whereas other four bowlers were ver economical. Skipper Shanto struggled as well. He managed to score just three runs from 11 balls and got stumped in Steve Taylor's over. Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan struggled to rotate strike in the middle overs as well. The all-rounder scored just six runs from 12 balls before getting run out.
Shanto blames pacers too
While defending the target, Bangladesh spinners were clinical. USA lost half the side for 94 with just one ball to go in 15th over. But Mustafizur Rahman turned out to be expensive in the slog overs. Shanto lauded the spinners but pointed out that the pacers failed to execute their plans.
“The spinners bowled really well, our seamers didn't execute their plans. Hope they can execute better,” Shanto added.
Bangladesh look for a comeback
Bangladesh will have a chance to level the three-T20I series on May 23 at the same venue. The final match of the T20I series will be played on May 25. Coincidentally, Bangladesh will play their T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up game against USA as well on May 28.
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