Hosts Bangladesh made a winning start in their three-match ODI series against Afghanistan by winning the first game, but their coach Russell Domingo believes the team have to play much better cricket in the remainder of the series.
Bangladesh were in all sorts of trouble chasing 216 as they were reduced to 45/6 but thanks to a record breaking, unbroken 174-run seventh wicket stand between Afif Hossain and Mehedi Hasan Miraz, they clinched the match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium Wednesday.
But Domingo was cautious regarding the lapses and urged his players to rectify them when they take the field for the second game Friday at the same venue.
“We have to play better cricket (Friday) than we did (Wednesday). We bowled 13 wides. We dropped a catch. We were 45/6. We need a massive improvement in performance in every department. We had one fantastic partnership,” said Domingo in a press conference in Chittagong Thursday ahead of the second ODI.
Afif and Miraz were showered with plaudits but the top-order, which consists many experienced ODI batters, was a horror show and such performance is very rare these days in the favorite format of Bangladesh team.
Domingo thinks the switch from T20 format might have caused the debacle.
Bangladeshi batters were mostly busy with recently concluded Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 2022 and also played the shortest format of the game predominantly throughout last year, when they struggled in the T20 World Cup.
The coach however, was keeping faith on the batters.
“They will be better (in the next match). We have a quality top-order. The guys have come out of a month of T20s. They will be disappointed with their performance, but I expect much better batting performance," said Domingo.
“They just need to play straighter. Their left-arm seamer (Fazalhaq Farooqi) bowled a good spell. He bowled some good balls – Liton (Das), (Yasir Ali) Rabbi and Mushfiqur (Rahim). We have to deal with him better,” the South African added.
Some speculations were abound among journalists as senior players like Shakib al Hasan and Mahmudulllah were absent from Thursday's practice session but the coach said the session was optional and rest was important for them before the crucial game.
“It was optional practice for guys who haven’t played and for those who want to have an extra hit. Guys have played a month of cricket. Rest is just as important as practice,” said Domingo.