Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim apologised to the whole nation after going down to India for their lowest ever total in ODIs yesterday. India won by 47 runs (D/L method) despite being bundled out for their lowest ever total against Bangladesh (105).
The defeat secured the three-match series for the visitors, but more than the result it was their batting debacle, getting all out for 58, that left the skipper with no explanation.
“I don’t have an explanation for this. All I can say is that we had a very good opportunity. There cannot be anything more shameful, so I apologise to the nation on behalf of the team. We all saw what happened out there. 106 runs is chasable in any wicket but our batsmen failed,” said Mushfiq.
“There can be a lot of questions. We were set in the crease but we couldn’t finish the game. We had to try as hard as we usually do but our batsmen didn’t show the mental toughness required in the middle. When they bowled two or three good overs, we played the wrong shots, which caused the defeat,” added the 25-year-old.
The humiliation left Musfhiq very angry which made him say even the second string national team would have played better cricket than his side yesterday.
Meanwhile, Tamim Iqbal continued his disastrous batting streak as an irresponsible and careless approach from the left-handed cost him his wicket in only the second ball of their run chase.
However, Mushfiq backed his teammate and said, “It might be wrong to say that he needs a long break. He was unlucky in the first match and today (yesterday) his dismissal was ugly. It did push us to the backfoot, but we came back and then we gave it away. So it wouldn’t be fair to blame one player.”
The skipper had earlier fought for his players and expressed to set a squad according to his plans, but the humiliation forced him to say that now it’s up to the management if they want to make changes to bring out a better balanced side.
On the other hand, Stuart Binny’s six for four runs enabled India to register the record of defending their lowest ever total against Bangladesh in ODIs. The bowling figure was also the best by an Indian beating Anil Kumble’s 12/6.
“I wouldn’t say I surprised myself with my bowling. My strength is to bowl wicket-to-wicket and swing the ball. The conditions were ideal to bowl so I don’t think I surprised myself, but to be on the top 10 in the world is surprising.
“When we went into the break we were disappointed. Because the wicket was doing something and I think it was going to be difficult for them as well,” said Binny.
