T20 cricket is a '24-ball puzzle' that needs to be solved: Allan Donald

Former South African fast bowler and the bowling coach of Bangladesh, Allan Donald, has termed T20 cricket a “24-ball puzzle” that needs to be solved. He added that it teaches harsh lessons and requires being street-smart. Bangladesh are currently in Zimbabwe for three T20Is and as many ODIs.

Bangladesh, following the first T20I against Zimbabwe, were criticised for conceding too many runs before eventually losing the game by 17 runs. Meanwhile, Donald was impressed with the way the team responded in the second game, as they squared the T20I series 1-1 with a seven-wicket win.

“T20 is such a game that teaches you harsh lessons. And in this game, I see a 24-ball puzzle that you need to solve and that’s being street smart,” Donald was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. “I think it’s the small steps that matter as I don’t care what type of team you are on.”

I was particularly impressed with Hasan Mahmud: Allan Donald

“Yesterday, we had a good start. We have got to do that tomorrow [Tuesday] as well as we showed how smart we can be and we are expecting to bounce back as we did in the last game on Sunday. Look, it’s the final tomorrow and it will be played on the pitch of the first game and it should be a cracker of a game and I’m looking forward to it,” added the former Proteas pacer.

“I was particularly impressed with Hasan Mahmud as I heard so much about this young kid. He showed great skill and what I like about him is his overall character and his calm demeanour. He is a big strong boy and it’s nice to work with him,” Donald said.

In the first T20I, Zimbabwe scored 205 in the first innings, courtesy of fifties from Wessly Madhevere and Sikandar Raza. Bangladesh, in reply, put up 188 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. In the second T20I, the hosts batted first yet again and put up 135 runs for eight wickets. Nurul Hasan’s side chased it down in 17.3 overs, courtesy of a fifty from opener Liton Das. The decider is set to happen on Tuesday, August 2, in Harare.