T20 World Cup
‘It's been always the same story when we play India’
|| CF DESK ||
Bangladesh skipper Shakib al Hasan sighed a breath of dejection after facting another close defeat against India in their Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup in Adelaide.
Bangladesh-India high-voltage clash was cursed by rain as the Tigers fell five runs short of their revised target on Wednesday.
Bangladesh managed 145 for six in 16 overs chasing 151 as India moved to the top of the Group 2 points table with six points from four matches, two points more than third-placed Tigers who have played the same number of games.
“It's been always the same story when we play India. We're almost there but don't cross the line. It was a great game, the crowd enjoyed, both teams enjoyed, in the end someone has to win and someone has to lose,” Shakib said in the presentation.
Opener Litton Das gave the team a blazing start, reaching his fifty in 21 balls, but once he fell to KL Rahul's direct hit India came roaring back.
“Litton is batting really well, probably he's our best batsman going around. We thought we could chase this down after that start. Our plan was to get India's top order quickly, that's why I bowled out Taskin, he's been our main bowler. Unfortunately he couldn't get wickets today, he was unlucky but it was a plan to get India's top order out to dictate the game. We're positive, we wanted to enjoy this World Cup, hopefully we can continue this" he added.
Despite the defeat, Bangladesh is still mathematically eligible to advance to the semifinals.
Three results must go in the Tigers' favor for that to happen, as they rely on Pakistan to beat South Africa on Thursday.
On November 6, Bangladesh must defeat Pakistan and hope that South Africa loses to the Netherlands, allowing the Tigers to qualify for the semi-finals as group runners-up behind India.