Mushfiq says Tigers leave no stone unturned<\/strong>
\nBeing the captain of the Bangladesh cricket team is always a tough job. It gets tougher when one needs to explain the reason for defeat every alternate day. This is what Mushfiqur Rahim has been doing for quite some time, precisely since the last game of the first round against Hong Kong.\u00a0But it seems he is also now running out of fuel. The Tigers left no stone unturned to put their recent dismal performances behind them, yet they were unable to find a solution.
\nAfter the latest 50-run bashing by Pakistan on Sunday in Mirpur, a clueless Mushfiq was left wondering what else can be done to find a winning formula and bring some smiles back on the faces of their fans.
\nBangladesh made one or two changes in every game, sometimes reshuffling the batting order only to see batsmen faltering against gentle bowling and bowlers giving some cheap runs to the opponents. The fielding has been the worst of the three departments, as they have kept dropping a catch or two in every game.
\nIn all six matches of the tournament, Bangladesh\u2019s batsmen could not score a single fifty, while the bowlers conceded 190-plus runs against West Indies and Pakistan.
\nBangladesh\u2019s biggest problem is opening, largely because of the poor form of Tamim Iqbal, once their most trusted opener, who has not survived five overs in any of Bangladesh\u2019s last four matches.
\nIt was even a surprise to see him against Pakistan, though Mushfiq defended his selection.
\n\u2018It\u2019s not that a lot of change will bring about different results,\u2019 said Mushfiq. \u2018We are trying to form a combination. And in the T20 format you sometimes have to play contrary to your character.
\n\u2018You sometimes need to score quick runs and the bowlers are under pressure from the first ball. We have tried almost everything and maybe there is nothing left to try,\u2019 said Mushfiq.
\nThe skipper rather pointed his finger at the bowling, particularly the two overs of Ziaur Rahman and Mashrafee bin Murtaza, which allowed Pakistan to score 190-5 and take the game beyond Bangladesh\u2019s reach.
\nZia conceded 22 runs in his only over \u2013 the 13th of the innings \u2013 and Mashrafee released 24 in the 19th before finishing with 0-63, the worst bowling figures by a Bangladeshi bowler in the Twenty20 format.
\n\u2018But even in the bad performances there are limits,\u2019 said Mushfiq. \u2018In one over bowlers can get hit, but if it is kept down to 15 or 16 then it is still possible to make a comeback. But if in two overs you give 45-50 runs then it is difficult to come back from that.\u2019
\nAhmed Shehzad feasted on the bowling to score an unbeaten 111 off 62 balls, the first century by a Pakistani batsman in the Twenty20 International format and only the sixth in the history of the World Twenty20.
\nTwo of these six centuries were struck against Bangladesh, with New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum\u2019s 123 off 58 balls at Pallekele in 2012 being the other.
\n\u2018We have seen how many runs can be scored if a set batsman bats throughout, but other teams have been doing that against us, unfortunately we have not done it,\u2019 said Mushfiq. \u2019In T20s if you want to play well, especially on these spinning tracks, one among the top four has to bat throughout. That is not happening.
\n\u2018We will try to play the right combination in the last game, keeping in mind that it is against Australia,\u2019 said Mushfiq.
\nBRIEF SCORES
\nPakistan 190-5 in 20 overs (A Shehzad 111 not out, S Malik 26, S Afridi 22; Razzak 2-20, Sakib 1-21) v
\nBangladesh 140-7 in 20 overs (Sakib 38, Nasir 23; U Gul 3-30, S Ajmal 2-20)
\nResult: Pakistan won by 50 runs
\nMan of the match: A Shehzad (PAK).<\/p>\n

-With New Age<\/strong> input<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mushfiq says Tigers leave no stone unturned Being the captain of the Bangladesh cricket team is always a tough job. It gets tougher when one needs to explain the reason for defeat every alternate day. This is what Mushfiqur Rahim has been doing for quite some time, precisely since the last game of the first … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n