‘Drastic improvement needed to make comeback' – Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, said his team needed to improve drastically to make a comeback in the three-match Twenty20 International series against Afghanistan. Bangladesh is trailing the series 1-0 after their 45-run loss in the first T20I in Dehradun on Sunday 3 June. Afghanistan, after being put in, successfully defended 167, with Rashid Khan’s brilliant 3/13 restricting Bangladesh to 122.

“We have to focus on various areas and make drastic improvements. They are a good side,” said Shakib. “In all three departments – batting, bowling and fielding – they were ahead of us. They just crushed us in every department.” A couple of the Bangladesh bowlers went for over 10 runs an over – Abu Jayed conceded 34 in his three overs, while Abul Hasan was taken for 40 in his three.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, added 72 runs in the last five overs to boost their total to respectability – they were teetering at 91/4 in the 14th over – with Samiullah Shenwari (36 off 18) and Shafiqullah Shafiq (24 off 8) going big. “We bowled well in general, but we were let down in the last four overs,” said Shakib. “It is not acceptable to give away more than 60 runs in the last four overs. We paid the price for it.”

Shakib makes a mistake by not bowling Mahmudullah

A few eyebrows were raised when Shakib decided not give another over to Mahmudullah. The off-spinner had picked up two wickets – Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi – in his only over and conceded just one run. However, Hasan played down the opinion. “It was a difficult decision,” he said. “If he was tried and went for few runs than you would ask why I had given him the ball despite having bowlers at my disposal.”

The second T20I will be played on Tuesday and the final T20I on Thursday. Both matches will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

[interaction id=”5b0fd06269550a51fa3fd776″]

Stay updated on ‘today’s cricket news‘ with CricTracker.com.