IND vs BAN | Good to see effort Bangladesh players put in, elates Mahmudullah Riyad
Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah Riyad applauded the efforts put in by his boys despite losing the three-match T20I series against India 1-2. The visitors failed to carry on the momentum from their convincing win in the opening match, losing the next two matches in comprehensive manner.
Apart from Rohit Sharma blowing them away in the second match at Rajkot, Bangladesh has, for the most part, looked like a side able to beat the mighty Indians on their home turf. The most opportune of those moments certainly came during the chase in the series-decider yesterday.
After two early wickets, Mohammad Naim and Mohammad Mithun put together a well-balanced partnership that left them needing just 65 runs from the last seven overs with eight wickets to spare. But it wasn’t to be for the visitors with no one apart from Naim and Mithun making it to double-digits as India cruised home to a 30-run victory.
“I think we had a chance looking at the way Naim and Mithun had a partnership. We lost wickets in a rapid way and that cost us the game. We needed 49 runs in 5 overs, we had a chance, but we missed it. The efforts that boys have put in, that was good to see. We could not finish it well after winning the first game,” Mahmudullah said at the post-match presentation, reported Cricbuzz.
For a side coming into the series on the back of some serious concerns within the squad and the cricket board, Bangladesh sure had a lot of positives to take forward.
“I think he (Naim) is a very talented batsman, the way he played his innings, it was a calm and composed one. All the three seamers executed their plans and bowled really well in the series,” Mahmudullah added.