Bangladesh stand-in captain Tawhid Hridoy admitted that his side had plenty to learn after suffering a second consecutive defeat in the ongoing tri-nation ODI series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
“We can learn a lot of things, to be very honest,” Hridoy said during the post-match presentation, following a seven-wicket defeat against Afghanistan that ended Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching the final.
Bangladesh had begun their campaign with a 99-run loss to Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi before suffering another comprehensive defeat against Afghanistan, leaving them out of contention for Friday’s final against the hosts.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 160 runs, with Afghanistan comfortably chasing down the target in 35.3 overs to seal their second successive victory in the tournament and book their place in Friday’s final against Zimbabwe.
Hridoy pointed to the early loss of wickets as a major reason behind Bangladesh’s below-par performance, stressing that the top order needed to take greater responsibility.
“As a batting unit, we made mistakes. At the beginning, we lost a couple of wickets. I think that was the main reason,” he said.
The stand-in skipper acknowledged that Bangladesh needed to build a stronger foundation with the bat, warning that the team would struggle to compete if they failed to score enough runs at the top of the order.
“At the beginning, as I mentioned earlier, we need to score runs at the top. Otherwise, you cannot sustain. So we will work on it,” Hridoy added.
Bangladesh’s batting shortcomings proved costly against an Afghanistan side that dominated proceedings with both bat and ball. Leg-spinner Rashid Khan led the bowling attack with four wickets for 31 runs, while Yamin Ahmadzai and Azmatullah Omarzai claimed two wickets apiece to leave Bangladesh struggling throughout their innings.
Hridoy also admitted that the team had missed a significant scoring opportunity on a surface that offered favourable batting conditions.
“No, to be honest, we missed 100 runs. That wicket was a very good wicket, a decent one to bat on,” he said, underlining the extent of Bangladesh’s batting failure.
Afghanistan made light work of the chase, with captain Rahmat Shah scoring an unbeaten 67 off 90 deliveries. Hashmatullah Shahidi remained not out on 36, while Ibrahim Zadran contributed 34 as the Afghans cruised to victory with seven wickets in hand.
The defeat marked Bangladesh’s fifth consecutive ODI loss to Afghanistan and left them out of contention for the tri-series final.
Beyond their batting struggles, Hridoy acknowledged that Bangladesh also needed to improve their fielding, suggesting that the team had several areas to address before their next assignment.
“As a batting unit, even in terms of fielding, we need to improve in some areas. We have time. Hopefully, we will overcome these issues,” he said.
Despite the disappointing campaign, Hridoy remained hopeful that Bangladesh could learn from their shortcomings and return stronger, pointing to the upcoming Asia Cup as an opportunity to turn things around.
“We have the Asia Cup at home, so we will bounce back,” he added.
For Bangladesh, the Sharjah defeat served as another reminder of the need for greater consistency with the bat, particularly at the top of the order.
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