Bangladesh batters put on a disappointing display against India in the first T20I of the three-T20I series. Had it not been for Mehidy Hasan Miraz's unbeaten 35, Bangladesh would have been bowled out for less than 100. As Bangladesh were bowled out for 127, the captain Najmul Hossain Shanto came down harshly on the batters. Shanto blamed the top-order for neither keeping wickets in hand nor scoring at a rapid rate in the powerplay overs.
"Powerplay is definitely a worry. The approach we talked about (before the game), it will be successful if we make a good start with the bat," Najmul told reporters after the comprehensive seven-wicket loss at the Madhav Rao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior. "We have to keep the wickets in the first six overs, and score runs in those. Otherwise those coming in next, it becomes too challenging for them. We have struggled in the powerplay. Those batting in the power play must take more responsibility."
Shanto questions Bangladesh batters’ mentality
Shanto walked out to bat at no.3 but could not score freely as wickets fell around him. After openers Parvez Hossain Emon and Litton Das were dismissed for single-digit scores, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah and Jaker Ali failed to make an impact as well. Bangladesh lost half the side for 57 in the 10th over. Shanto could not carry on either and handed a catch to Washington Sundar. The southpaw scored 27 runs from 25 balls.
"I wouldn't say we played badly. We are a better team than this. We haven't done well in this format for a long time, but I don't believe we are such a bad team," said the left-handed-batter. "I don't want to talk about any individual player. I think the batting unit didn't do well today. There will be aggression in the way we approach our scoring, but sometimes we have to select the balls correctly. We will think about it, but we can't rush in changing our approach.
"We have the ability, but we have room for improvement in our skills. We have been batting in this way for the last ten years. Sometimes we do well. We have to make some changes, perhaps where we practice back home. We play on 140-150 wickets at home. Our batters don't know how to score 180 runs. I won't blame just the wickets, but we have to consider skills and mentality," the 26-year-old added.
Bangladesh will have a chance to make a comeback in the series in the second T20I on October 9 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
