Dhaka: Bangladesh captain Liton Das admitted that his side made some glaring mistakes in bowling and fielding which played a key role in their stunning two-wicket defeat to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the second T20 game.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, having won the game, the UAE leveled the three-match series 1-1. This was the UAE's first ever victory against Bangladesh in any format of cricket. Liton commented, "Every loss hurts but still we batted well on this wicket," reflecting on the match post-game.
Bangladesh earlier won the first match by 27 runs but failed to defend 205-5 in the second game as the UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem tore apart Bangladesh bowlers in an aggressive batting show. His dismissal after hitting 42-ball 82 paved the way for Bangladesh to claw back into the game. However, the UAE lower order batters held their nerve and scored the required 29 runs in the last two overs to win the game.
While Bangladesh bowlers struggled in the death overs, fielding lapses also proved costly. Liton acknowledged the errant bowling and pointed out the dew factor as a challenge during their defeat. "Wicket was pretty good, when they batted, they had the favour of dew," Liton said. "We missed a bit in the fielding and in the middle-overs bowling. When you play on this type of ground, which is small and with dew a factor, you have to calculate and plan (as bowlers)."
The match marked the debut of fast bowler Nahid Rana in the T20 format, but he had a challenging outing, giving away 50 runs in four overs although he claimed two wickets. In his first three overs, Nahid conceded 45 runs before coming back strongly in his fourth over. Liton said Nahid couldn't deliver what was expected from him, commenting, "What Nahid Rana did before (his final over), we were expecting more from him. You can have good days and bad days. We will sit and talk and come back."
Despite the defeat, Liton hinted at regaining his form by scoring 32-ball 40 in the match. He concluded, "What I did is not up to the mark but I will try my best."