Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan termed his side’s performance in the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia as the Tigers’ best-ever in the marquee event.
The Bangladesh captain referred to their wins against the Netherlands and Zimbabwe as their previous best outcome in the main phase of this mega event was based on a win against West Indies in 2007.
“In terms of results, this is the best performance we had in T20 World Cups,” said Shakib during a post-match presentation ceremony following a five-wicket defeat to Pakistan in their last Super 12 encounter.
After starting the day with good news, Bangladesh had a decent start against Pakistan as they got a new lease on life after the Netherlands sent South Africa crashing out of the tournament with a stunning 13-run victory in Adelaide in the first match of the day.
The Tigers chose to bat first but threw away a solid foundation, only to depict their deficiency in T20 cricket. However, the controversial dismissal of skipper Shakib made the situation complicated for them.
“At the halfway stage, we were 70 for 1. We wanted to get somewhere around 145-150 – it would’ve been a reasonable total on that pitch. Knew it was going to be difficult for the new batters so wanted set batters to carry through to the end, which didn’t happen,” Shakib addressed what he thought was the key reason behind the defeat.
And while defending a low 128un target, pacer Taskin Ahmed once again came close to giving his side a flying start, but wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan Sohan dropped a sitter. Overall, Bangladesh’s fielding was hugely disappointing in defence of a small total.
Bangladesh team and fans will have plenty to shout about regarding key umpiring decisions in matches that went in their favour against India and Pakistan. However, Shakib duly said that: “We could’ve done better. But having said that, with the new guys coming in, with the changes, this is the best we could expect.”
Bangladesh can cherish their best success, but, in reality, the problem with T20 cricket remains the same as before despite two wins and a close match against formidable India.
If there was any standalone performance from anyone, Taskin led the pack.
Shakib, however, admitted that his performance was also not up to the mark. “On my own performance – I could’ve done better. I’d love to play for my country as long as I’m fit and performing. I’ll try to play for Bangladesh for as many years as possible.”