Published: Jun 16, 2017, 04:45 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 16, 2017, 04:45 PM (IST)
India stormed into ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final by thrashing Bangladesh by 9 wickets. Putting the opponents to bat, Virat Kohli and co. restricted Bangladesh to 31 for 2 before Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim put on a 123-run stand for the third wicket. From 154 for 2, Bangladesh lost the plot to post 264 for 7 in 50 overs. Their bowling and fielding remained below par as India dominated proceedings with an easy 9-wicket win. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan blamed missed chances for the loss and believed that Bangladesh were nowhere near their best in the semi-final.
“The way we performed today was very disappointing. 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 told ESPNcricinfo.
“In that situation, it was important for them to bat another 5 or 10 overs, like the way I did with Mahmudullah against New Zealand. If they could have batted until the 40th over, both would have scored their hundreds and we might have made 330 or 340. 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”, added Shakib.
Shakib, who made 23-ball 15 and remained wicketless, said, “We have a solid bowling line-up. 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.”
Shakib also added that there was no division in the team. “It’s a group. 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”, concluded the 30-year-old.
