Champions Trophy 2017 | Bangladeshi batsmen underestimated Kedar Jadhav, feels Shakib Al Hasan
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Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has criticised the batsmen for letting their guard down against Kedar Jadhav which resulted in Bangladesh slumped to a 9-wicket defeat against India in the semi-final. The Tigers were restricted to a modest total of 264 on a batting-friendly Edgbaston pitch.
The Bangladeshi side looked to be cruising past the 300-run mark at 154-2 with more than 20 overs remaining in the innings and Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease who had each completed their respective half-centuries. However, the introduction of Kedar Jadhav for the first time in the tournament did the trick for India as the part-time off-spinner sent the set duo packing in quick succession.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who himself did not have a great game, scoring just 15 and conceding 54 while bowling, criticised the Bangladeshi batsmen for taking the part-time spinner lightly.
"The way we performed today was very disappointing," Shakib said. "We were in a good position to get 320 or 330. The batsmen were looking good to make individual hundreds and get us to 320.
"But India bowled a few dot balls. And because it was a part-time bowler, the batsmen tried to score more runs and in doing that, they lost wickets. Losing two wickets to an occasional bowler obviously didn't help. And from there on they kept on bowling in good areas and that put us under a lot of pressure.We have played enough games to know these things happen. We are all experienced people. Bowlers bowl good balls and sometimes you can't score runs. It doesn't mean you panic and play big shots and get out. We played some silly shots. And on this wicket, a score of 260 or 270 is not even par." Shakib said in a post-match press conference.
The 30-year old termed Jadhav's spell to be a game-changer.
"That was the game-changing period. It is disappointing. Playing in a semi-final is a big thing for us but we were nowhere near our best." he said.
Shakib, though, admitted that the total put up on the board was not at par with the pitch they were playing on and also agreed to the fact that the Bangladesh side was not up to their best in the game.
"We have a solid bowling line-up," he said. "But there isn't much help for the bowlers on these wickets unless you are a super quality bowler. Most of our bowlers need a little bit of help from the wicket, but we haven't been getting any. I haven't taken any wickets in the tournament. With our total and that wicket, we knew it was very hard for our bowlers. But still, I think we were nowhere near our best in our bowling and fielding." he said.
Despite their recent setback, the all-rounder insisted that the team was together and concluded on a positive note stating that the side learnt valuable lessons in the tournament and will make a strong comeback.
"It's a group," he said. "It's nothing individual. We play as a team, we win as a team and we lose as a team. Now we have time to regroup and come back strongly. We've come a long way and from here we can only go forward. We will have a good break and think how we can move forward." he concluded.
