In the second game of the three-match series against Afghanistan, Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan stated on Saturday that 331 was a little bit too much for his team to chase down.
By winning the three-match series with one match remaining, Afghanistan delivered Bangladesh a wake-up call in a format where they should feel most at ease. On the strength of two centuries from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (145) and Ibrahim Zadran (100), Afghanistan scored a mammoth total of 331 for 9 after being given the opportunity to bat first. Afghanistan then bowled Bangladesh out for 189 in 43.2 overs to secure a 2-0 series victory.
“331 runs seemed like a lot. Mehidy attributed his team’s setback to their inability to attack and bowl strategically in the early going. However, they were successful in their onslaught. We would have had hope if our top order performed well or if we had strong top-order pairings and advanced the game, he continued.
“Since that didn’t happen, the game got tougher for us. More than 30 to 40 runs were given away. If we had kept them at 280 or 290, it would have been different, the man remarked.
Mehidy also believed that Bangladesh didn’t suddenly turn into a terrible ODI team as a result of this series loss.
“I stated in a previous press conference that even if we performed poorly in this series, it wouldn’t indicate that we had turned into a horrible team. Our record is excellent, and we have earned a spot in the World Cup. The player chemistry on our team is strong, and our team combinations work well. Overall, we are assured.
“Since we have a challenging series ahead of us, our shortcomings and errors from these two games will help us to sharpen our focus. I hope we can learn from our mistakes because we played them in the Asia Cup and World Cup.
“We now have a chance, which is one thing that was excellent. The fact that we lost this series allowed us to focus on our shortcomings and areas for development. We can prepare our batters’ gameplan, decide who bowlers to target, and figure out how to stop their hitters because we have World Cup and Asia Cup matches against them. Since there are still three months until the World Cup and one and a half months until the Asia Cup, each cricket player has time to make their own plans. It would be nice since we have time,” he added.
On July 11, Bangladesh will play Afghanistan in the series’ last match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium before the two teams go to Sylhet to play a two-match T20I series.
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