T20 World Cup
Shanto blames batting unit for WC exit despite Shakib’s controversial out
|| CF DESK ||
Bangladesh batter Nazmul Hossain Shanto blamed the batting unit for their five-wicket loss to Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup in Adelaide on Sunday.
Bangladesh faced Pakistan with a golden opportunity to advance to the semi-finals. The two teams were set for a do-or-die match after the Netherlands defeated South Africa in the first game of the day at the same venue.
But Bangladesh failed to capitalize on the opportunity after the batting unit failed to score enough runs.
Bangladesh batted first and opener Shanto scored his second half-century in the format and third in the tournament with a 48-ball 54 laced with seven boundaries.
However, Bangladesh's batters were unable to make an impact, with only three reaching double figures as Afif Hossain (24 not out), Soumya Sarkar (20), and Liton Das (10).
Bangladesh's batting line-up crumbled after Shakib al Hasan's controversial leg-before wicket for a golden duck, but Shanto sees the incident as a distraction and instead blames the batters for their failure.
“I don't think so [Shakib dismissal being a distraction]. The decision was confusing for everyone but we did not get stuck to that. We could have played better cricket. We all thought it was a not out but at the end it is for umpire to decide. This did not distract us, it is just us who did not play well in the middle and death overs,” said Shanto to the media following the game.
“We all wanted to win, it was a rare big opportunity for us. We wanted to make use of the opportunity and tried to give our 100% but we fell short in the middle,” he added.
The left-handed batter, who finished the tournament with most runs for Bangladesh, 180 in five innings with a strike rate of 114.64.