Bangladesh T20I captain Mahmudullah said his team were short by 15 to 20 runs Saturday in the fourth T20I of the series against visitors Australia.
Bangladesh tasted their first defeat in the series, losing the game by three wickets with six balls to spare at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
The defeat broke Bangladesh’s three-game winning streak against the Aussies in the series.
The home team have already secured the five-match series, winning the first three games at a stretch.
The Bangladesh skipper also claimed that they probably couldn’t assess the wicket well on the night, and that choosing to bat first was not a bad decision.
On a low and slow surface in Mirpur, Bangladesh could post only 104 on the board losing nine wickets after 20 overs.
“[Saturday's] wicket was probably the hardest that we have seen in this series so far. We cannot get anything out of what's gone, rather look forward and try to maximize the opportunity in the batting order,” said Mahmudullah at the post-match presentation.
“It is always difficult to chase [on this wicket]. Probably we did not assess the wicket well enough. It was probably a 120-run wicket. We were 10 to 15 short. Having said that, the bowlers did a very good job to get the game to the 19th over. As a batting unit we need to be a bit more cautious and sensible,” the Bangladesh all-rounder added.
The task was daunting for the Bangladesh bowlers to defend the low total, but as it has been throughout the series, they had put the Australia batting unit to test on the night as well.
Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman was once again splendid, giving away only nine runs for two wickets in four overs amid the pressure situation.
Off-spinner Mahedi Hasan picked up two while Shoriful Islam and Nasum Ahmed bagged a scalp each.
Left-arm spinner Shakib al Hasan however, had a nightmare experience in the middle, leaking 50 runs in four overs without any wicket.
His second over of the innings went for 30 runs after Australia batsman Dan Christian hammered five over boundaries.
“Definitely [the bowlers have been brilliant throughout the series]. Shakib’s over was the most crucial, picking up a wicket in that over would have changed the scenario. But Christian changed the situation coming out [top of the order] and swinging his bat with those five sixes. But it can happen in a T20 game. We all know that Shakib is a champion bowler and he will come back strong,” said Mahmudullah.
