BAN vs AUS | Were in a good position and should have got 130-140, reckons Matthew Wade
Wade again failed with the bat today
|After the second T20I loss at the hands of Bangladesh, Australian skipper Matthew Wade rued the team's failure and stated that they should have got 130-140 after being in a decent position. Winning captain Mahmudullah revealed that there was tension in the dressing room after losing early wickets.
Mitchell Marsh has been a revelation for Australia at the No.3 slot in T20 internationals since the start of the West Indies series. With him and Moises Henriques set in the middle and Australia on 88 for 2, at one stage, the Men in Yellow would have hoped for a flourishing finish in the last five overs. But for the nth time in the last few years, they suffered a terrible collapse and went from 88-2 to 106 for 7, finally finishing with 121 runs on the board. Despite a wobbly start, Bangladesh managed to win the game and take a lead of 2-0 in the series.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Aussie skipper Wade stated that the team was in a good position once and they should have got 130-140.
"We were in a good position today with a couple of set batters, but didn't cash in at the back end. Should have got high 130s or 140s, which would have been a winning score on that track. The bowlers from both teams have done really well. Bowling isn't the problem for us, got to tidy up with the bat," Wade stated post the second T20I loss.
Bangladesh continued their terrific form against Australia and were exceptional on the bowled front. Mustafizur Rahman was the stand-out bowler and on a sluggish pitch, used his deceptive slower deliveries to perfection to end up with figures of 3/23. In response, Bangladesh didn't get to a good start with both the openers back inside 19 deliveries. Shakib Al Hasan started brilliantly but couldn't convert, while Mahmudullah and Mahedi Hasan were also disappointing, leaving the hosts in a spot of bother at 67-5.
But then Afif Hossain (37*) and Nurul Hasan (22*) stitched together a crucial sixth-wicket stand, and helped Bangladesh cross the line with eight balls to spare. Mahmudullah was pleased with the finishing touch and lauded Afif and Nurul.
"It's very pleasing how Afif and Sohan (Nurul Hasan) stood up and carried till the end, showed a lot of maturity. Bowlers did a very good job to restrict them around 120. Shakib was very crucial with his bowling and batting, shows how valuable he is," Mahmudullah stated.
He added that the team was under pressure after losing early wickets and also went on to praise his bowlers with a special mention for Shakib.
"Losing few early wickets causes tension in the dressing room but the way Sohan and Afif batted, it took a bit of pressure off us, the dressing room was quite relieved. Mustafizur has always been effective in these conditions, Shoriful bowled very well, every bowler chipped in. We are taking each game at a time, we need to stand up and perform to the best of our abilities."
Bangladesh will now lock horns with Australia in the third T20I on August 6 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. The hosts already have a lead of 2-0 in the five-match T20I series.
