Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo said that he was not looking for any excuses although he reiterated that the conditions and the DLS confusion stacked against his side in the second T20I at Napier as New Zealand won by 28 runs following DLS method.
The required target was not given to the Tigers when they came out to bat and it only arrived after nine deliveries in the innings had gone. After New Zealand had scored in 173 for five in 17.5 overs following which the game was interrupted by rain for the second time, the Tigers it appeared then, were under the impression that the target is 148 in 16 overs. The target was then set at 170 after nine deliveries had gone but that in itself was not the right target. Only after Soumya Sarkar’s blistering 51 with Bangladesh 94 for one in 10 overs was the correct target of 171 shown on the scoreboard.
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Domingo, who was seen at the match referee’s room, trying to find out what Bangladesh needed, said after the game that they didn’t really have a clue what the target was after DLS calculations were not forthcoming as they went out to bat.
“I haven’t been in a game before where the batters go out to bat and don’t know what the target is, don’t know what the DLS target is with a lot of rain around. No one had any ideas as to how many we need after five overs or six overs. I don’t think the game should have started until the target was finalised and any clear indications as to what is required at certain stages of the match.
“What has been explained now is that they normally get it one or two deliveries into the innings, but hadn’t received it and there were delays and all sorts of stuff. But no excuses, though very frustrating.
“They were waiting for the printouts and the calculations to take place and could not delay the game any longer. It’s very frustrating,” Domingo reiterated.
Despite Soumya’s efforts, none of the batters had any real momentum going for them in the chase as Tigers failed to deceive yet again and only reached 142 for seven in 16 overs. The bowlers too had ruined a good start with the ball and gave way too many boundary balls at the end of the Kiwi innings. However, Domingo still found some ‘real positives.’
“A hundred after 10 overs, I think we got off to a great start. Very happy with the intensity of how we went about things which is a marked improvement from our previous game. Obviously didn’t finish well but some real positives for us today.”
Domingo talked about being consistent for 40 overs but Tigers once again showed an inability to take advantage of momentum and squeeze the opposition.
“It’s a tough place and our record here is not great. We showed glimpses of what we can do but we haven’t been consistent enough. Hopefully we can be consistent for the whole 40 overs in the next game. If you have a bad five overs, they will pounce on you and take the game away from you. Hopefully we can put a complete performance. ”
The Tigers had a tough time on the field following the rain. While Domingo kept reiterating that he did not want to find excuses, he felt everything went against them.
“Look, I have never seen a team field for that long in that much rain. I mean it was raining and ball was wet and slippery. No excuses, but just seemed to stack all against us in terms of conditions. I have never seen a game start while it’s rainy again and we came back out for four or five overs again. I don’t know if the rules have changed but I was under the impression the covers don’t come off until the rain stops and the first ball can’t get bowled until rain stops. Very frustrating overall,” he said.
-With The Daily Star input
