Abu dhabi: Bangladesh captain Liton Das admitted that their early batting collapse dug their graveyards in the crucial Asia Cup game against Sri Lanka at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi today. After being sent to bat first, Bangladesh were left to a precarious 11-3 in the fifth over, a start that determined the course of the game.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Liton, however, carried his form and gave the side a glimmer of hope to revive the innings but after scoring 26 off 28 balls, he too was dismissed by trying for an expensive reverse-sweep shot. The captain’s dismissal made Bangladesh five down for 53 runs in the 10th over. Shamim Patwari (42) and Jaker Ali Anik (41) then shared an 86-run partnership for the undefeated sixth wicket to help the side post 139-5. But the total was not enough as Sri Lanka reached the winning target in 14.4 overs.
“I thought we lost the game in power play (first six overs). Wicket was pretty good to bat on,” Liton admitted after the match, saying a total aroun
d 180 was a par score on this kind of wicket. “170-180 would’ve been a different game. On a good wicket if you score 140, you have to bowl and field well. We didn’t do that.”
Bangladesh, earlier in the first match, beat Hong Kong by seven wickets. However, they will take on Afghanistan in their last group match on Tuesday. The match turned out to be a ‘do or die’ game for them to move to the next round.
“We are aware that it’s do or die (against Afghanistan). We’ll try to come back strongly.”