Bangladesh all-rounder Nasir Hossain admitted that his casual attitude cost him his wicket against Pakistan in their opening game of the Micromax Asia Cup which ultimately led to the Tigers’ downfall.
Nasir made 47 and was involved in a fabulous 89-run sixth-wicket stand with Sakib al Hasan, which raised the hopes of the hosts of starting their campaign on a winning note as they needed 39 runs from as many deliveries to reach the target.
But after Nasir was clean bowled by Pakistani pacer Umar Gul the Tigers lost their way and suffered a 21-run defeat in their chase of 263 for victory.
‘I think I was a bit causal and it would have been better if I was bit more cautious,’ Nasir told reporters after the practice of the Bangladesh team at the GP-BCB Academy ground on Tuesday.
‘I think they [Pakistan] have said the right thing that my wicket was the turning point of the match as I was a set batsman. I shouldn’t have got out at that stage but unfortunately I was out,’ said Nasir.
He also blamed himself for not staying till the end and promised to concentrate more on batting which he believes is his greatest weakness.
‘I try to stay at the wicket for a long time, till the end, but somehow it doesn’t happen and that’s a big weakness of mine. I will try to stay there till the end,’ said Nasir.
When asked if it was the pressure of international cricket that he was unable to give the finishing touch, which he usually does in domestic cricket, Nasir simply did not agree.
‘There is no big difference. Here (at international level) it is not happening but I am sure it will happen,’ said Nasir.
‘I think we should improve in this area and we are trying to do that. We went close on several occasions and then we lost. We will try not to repeat it.
‘We always believed that we could do it but we couldn’t because some quick wickets fell at the end.
‘The lower order batsmen could not provide the needed support and we could have won the match if they could,’ said Nasir.
Nasir also said he did not have any talks with the coach Stuart Law regarding this phase of the game.
‘Coach hasn’t worked with me regarding this,’ said Nasir.
‘No, we did not have any extra briefing regarding facing Umar Gul, but we watched his bowling footage before the game,’ he added.
Nasir is confident that Bangladesh will fare well against tournament favourites India in their next match and believes that if they can restrict to within 265 runs then they will hold a realistic chance of winning the tie.
‘We are confident that we will do something good against India. We will try to restrict them to 260 to 265 which I think is very much possible,’ said Nasir.
‘A good ball is a good ball for everyone, even for [Sachin] Tendulkar,’ replied Nasir when asked whether they are thinking about Tendulkar’s 100th century.
-With New Age input
