Shakib backs Rubel after forgettable 19th over

Bangladesh heading into the final two overs of India's chase needed to defend 34 runs. The Tigers captain Shakib al Hasan handed the ball to Rubel Hossain and all hell broke loose. The right-arm pacer conceded 22 runs – two boundaries and as many over boundaries – as the new batsman at the crease, Dinesh Karthik started firing from his very first ball at R Premadasa Cricket Stadium in Colombo Sunday. In the last over, occasional seamer Soumya Sarkar failed to defend 12 with Karthik hitting a six off the last ball when India required five to win. While the majority of the cricketing fraternity are blaming Rubel for Bangladesh's fifth multi-nation final defeat, Shakib backed the right-arm paceman as he was the best choice at that point of time. Rubel had come on to bowl at the death having given away only 13 runs in his previous three overs.

I know it's all my mistake but to be honest, I never thought Bangladesh would lose the game from such winning situation only for my mistake. I am seeking forgiveness to all my countrymen. Please forgive me. #NidahasTrophy

— Rubel Hossain (@rubel34official) March 18, 2018

“After Mustafizur [Rahman] bowled that brilliant (18th) over, India needed another 35 (34) in two overs. I thought of Rubel to bowl the over as he was our best bowler (Sunday), bowling the first three overs he was terrific. He went for I think 12 or 13 in the first three overs. So I had to believe in him. He has done it many times for Bangladesh,” said a dejected Shakib following the defeat in the Nidahas T20I tri-nation series final Sunday. “I was thinking if he had bowled and gone for 15 in the over, we would have had around 15 to play for in the last over. Soumya would obviously had felt comfortable with around 20 to defend. But credit goes to Karthik for the way he batted. It is not easy for someone to hit a low full toss like that. He faced eight balls and had hit five or six boundaries. It was amazing hitting. “To be honest he did not fail to execute much of the plan when he bowled. I don’t know if there are many batsmen who can come and hit a six off the first ball, the next for a four and then again a six. Such batting is rare in history, it is miraculous. But he had done that. Of course Rubel was nervous after giving away 10 in the first two balls and that is natural to happen. But still, I think I will back him if there is a similar situation in future," explained Shakib.

@BCBtigers ..well down bangladesh ..u played very @well ..never mind the loss ..india a terrific cricket nation ..ur improvement is so noticeable @Sah75official @TamimOfficial28 @mushfi

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) March 18, 2018

Bangladesh after losing the toss were sent in to bat first and despite top-order debacle posted 166, riding on Sabbir Rahman’s 50-ball 77. “It was a setback losing early wickets. We needed a good start in an important game. We were 27 for none in the first three overs and after five we were 33 for three I think. It was a bad period for us. We could have scored more runs if not for the bad start. I think we were short by 10 to 15 runs. I would have taken 170 runs at the start of the day and we were short by just four runs. So we had actually covered our target and showed our character. I cannot find much negatives to be honest except that we could not win the game,” said Shakib.