Monday, December 11, 2023

Mushfiqur blames careless approach

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim has held the top-order responsible for their careless approach, describing it as an instance when he even forgot it was his 100th ODI yesterday.
Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful and after three boundaries, Shakib Al Hasan all fell in a heap as the Tigers crumpled to 18 for four by the fifth over. The slippery slope was prevented thanks to a fightback staged by Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam and Nasir Hossain, eventually helping the Tigers to 220 all out in 48.5 overs.
Mushfiqur, who struck 69 off 109 balls, said that instructions to be wary of a collapse is always given to the batsmen but in such a crucial game, the men who matter didn’t deliver in front of another capacity crowd at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
“Everyone knows that they have to be careful after a wicket falls, to stop a collapse. In a Test or ODI, it is quite difficult to come back from this sort of situation. Everyone is told these things but today the ones who played shots, I think some of us played irresponsibly,” said Mushfiqur at the post-game briefing.
“Now it seems that even I don’t have that answer. After winning the toss on this flat wicket, as you must have seen there wasn’t any sideways movement. It wasn’t such a wicket that we could have gone and started hitting. I think if they had taken some time, like Simmons, Samuels who caught up later after starting off slowly. If any of the top-order did something similar, the scenario would have been different.
“It was a do-or-die match for us; we had to be more responsible. We depended on our top-order, but unfortunately, they couldn’t deliver,” he added.
On yet another slow surface, the initial plan, according to the 23-year-old Mushfiqur, was to bat out the first Powerplay and play catch-up from then on, but some bad shots didn’t help the Tigers’ cause.
“There are the two new balls to deal with so the plan was to score 30-35 runs in the first 10 overs. It wouldn’t have mattered if we had played catch-up later on. It didn’t happen unfortunately because the top-order played some bad shots.
“I am disappointed. If we have to win the game, I had said earlier that our batsmen have to contribute 60-70 per cent. If you don’t give the bowlers a good score, it becomes difficult,” he opined, although it was a match worth remembering for the man who now has the highest score for a Bangladeshi in his 100th ODI (beating Habibul Bashar’s 57).
“I had forgotten about it (100th game) at one point. I didn’t want anything extraordinary on this day, but if everyone had played well, it would have been a big achievement for me. I will remember this day, having said that,” said a candid Mushfiqur.
Interestingly, the skipper backpedalled from his comments about the wicket, saying now that the wicket can’t be blamed when the team can’t do their job. “The wicket depends on whether the result is favourable to us. In the three games, there was no fault with the wicket. There’s no point blaming someone if we can’t play well. Our faults will get covered up,” he said.
Though Mushfiqur never let the thoughts of “58 all out” cloud his mind, the opposition camp that had inflicted it just seven months ago wanted to better it.
“We wanted to press on the gas and get them for a lower total. We didn’t know how the wicket will play at the end of the day, but they got a reasonable total. We chased it down very smartly.
“We’d like to do that again. It never happens but our approach was very professional,” said Samuels, who hammered a fine 74-ball 88.
In a jovial mood, Samuels compared Bangladesh to his team, saying, “Bangladesh plays cricket like West Indies. Someday we come out all guns blazing and the next day, we come and play a poor game (laughs). So, we are aware of all the situations.”

-With The Daily Star input

Related News

Shorna seals Tigresses’ historic first-ever T20I win against South Africa

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com All-rounder Shorna Akter stole the show in Benoni as she picked up five wickets to hand Bangladesh women’s national team their first-ever win on South African soil as they beat the Proteas by 13 runs in the first Twenty20 International of the three-match series on Sunday. This is Bangladesh’s first win ... Read more

Bangladesh’s Marufa and Rabeya included in women IPL auction list

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The second edition of the Indian women’s franchise-based Women’s Premier League will take place next year. The auction for the tournament will be held on 9 December this year. Bangladesh cricketers Rabeya Khatun and Marufa Akter are placed in the draft of that auction. The base price of both of them ... Read more

Bangladesh wins historic Test match against New Zealand

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Taijul Islam picked up his second 10-wicket haul in Tests to take Bangladesh to a historic 150-run win over New Zealand on the final day of their first Test in Sylhet on Saturday. This is Bangladesh’s second-ever win over New Zealand and the first at home against them. This is also ... Read more

England brings down the Tigers

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh failed to maintain the momentum gained by beating Afghanistan in the opening match as they suffered a massive 137-run defeat against defending champions England in the second match of the ICC World Cup in Dharamsala on Tuesday. After being put into bat first by Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, England ... Read more

Emirates shares excitement with cricket lovers

The airline brand named ICC’s Cricket World Cup airline partner Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Emirates has announced it is the official airline partner of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Kicking off the 13th edition of the tournament, the airline brand shares its excitement for the game with a video featuring Indian batsman, Dinesh ... Read more

South Africa crush Sri Lanka by 102 runs in World Cup opener

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com South Africa came with a dominating performance as they defeat Sri Lanka by a big margin of of 102 runs in the fourth game of the World Cup on Saturday. The Proteas bowled the Lankan batters out for 326 runs in 44.5 overs while defending the mammoth total of 428 runs ... Read more

Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets in opener

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com A stunning all-round display from Mehidy Hasan Mirza, who notched up a half-century and claimed three wickets, powered Bangladesh to a comprehensive six-wicket win over Afghanistan in their first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in Dharamsala on Saturday. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Bangladesh captain ... Read more

Nagad to gift BMW to Bangladesh cricketers if they win World Cup

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com If Bangladesh wins the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023, mobile banking service provider Nagad will gift BMW-branded cars to every cricketer in the team. This was announced by Tanvir A Mishuk, founder and managing director of Nagad, expressing his belief that winning the World Cup would be a significant ... Read more

Pakistan see off Netherlands and starts the World Cup successfully

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Pakistan opened their World Cup 2023 campaign with a comfortable 81-run win against the Netherlands on Friday at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. , quickly chipping away all the wickets despite a steady start by them. The Netherlands could not hold on to the momentum and kept on losing wickets at ... Read more

New Zealand thrashes England in Cricket World Cup opener

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com England’s World Cup defense began with a punishing nine-wicket defeat in Ahmedabad as New Zealand grabbed a measure of revenge after four years of preparation. Organizers were planning a repeat of the 2019 final to kick off this year’s tournament, but rather than a nail-biter as the excitement of the Lords ... Read more

England’s Stokes in doubt to start World Cup due to hip injury

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com There are doubts about injury risk for Ben Stokes in England’s opening World Cup match against New Zealand on Thursday (October 5) after a hip injury kept the all-rounder out of the teams’ pre-tournament warm-up matches. Stokes reversed his year-long retirement from one-day international cricket in order to help defend the ... Read more

Tigers ready for effective representations

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan said on Wednesday that he believed that the team was ready for a good display in this edition of the ICC World Cup as they have prepared well for the tournament despite a below-par performance in the recent past. The Tigers are coming into the tournament ... Read more

Tigers find fresh air with warm-up win sans Shakib

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com After all the controversy that had been going on in the cricketing fraternity since the squad announcement for the World Cup 2023, Bangladesh finally found a fresh breath of air on Friday as they beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in their first warm-up game for the upcoming event. The biggest ... Read more

Shakib blames then-captain Tamim for Afghanistan series loss

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan blamed former captain Tamim Iqbal for the home ODI series loss to Afghanistan earlier this year. The all-rounder said in the second part of his interview with T Sports that for the first time in his life he had seen a captain announce his retirement after ... Read more

Tamim childish and not a team man, says Shakib

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said that Tamim Iqbal, who was left out of Bangladesh’s 15-man squad for the 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup, was not a team man because he was unwilling to obey the order. Tamim, after being left out, posted a video on his Facebook page on Wednesday, ... Read more

Tigers set off for World Cup mission

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh national cricket team left Dhaka for India on Wednesday to take part in the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place from October 5 to November 19. Bangladesh will begin their campaign for the tournament against Afghanistan on October 7 in Dharamshala. Before leaving the country, ... Read more

New Zealand crush Tigers to win first bilateral series in Bangladesh since 2008

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com New Zealand geared up for the World Cup as they whitewash Bangladesh in the three-match series 2-0, with a seven wickets win in the final one-day international in Dhaka on Tuesday. This is New Zealand’s first bilateral series victory over the Tigers in Bangladesh since 2008. Playing to avoid a series ... Read more

No Tamim in Shakib-led Bangladesh WC squad

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com After a night of drama and rumours, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming World Cup in India, to be led by Shakib Al Hasan, excluding opener Tamim Iqbal. While Tamim has been left out, another veteran Mahmudullah Riyad has been included for the ... Read more

Taskin dropped, Khaled and Afif brought in for third ODI

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made further changes in the team for the third and final One-Day International (ODI) against New Zealand at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, retaining bowler Khaled Ahmed after the second ODI and bringing in im out-of-form Afif Hossain. Pacer Taskin Ahmed, who was included ... Read more

Full squads of all 7 teams for the BPL 2024 edition

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The players’ draft of the tournament was held in Dhaka on Sunday. Let us have a look at the full squads of the teams for the 2024 edition of Bangladesh’s premier T20 league. Comilla Victorians Retentions and direct signings: Litton Das, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanvir Islam, Sunil Narine, Mohammad Rizwan, Towhid Hridoy, ... Read more