Taskin Ahmed (Photo Source: BCCI)
Bangladesh were outclassed by India in the first and second T20I comprehensively. In the first T20I, the visitors could only put 127 runs batting first as their batters struggled. The plight continued in the second T20I, but this time around, the bowlers failed to capitalize on the early breakthroughs as India was reduced to 41 for the loss of three wickets.
The duo of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh took charge and forged a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket as India went on to score 221 runs. Bangladesh could not leverage the batter-friendly Delhi pitch and succumbed by 86 runs. Bangladesh pacer, Taskin Ahmed called for better pitches back home so that the team can work on its skills.
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“We have to improve our skills, but we also need to play on better wickets back home. These are the main reasons [for the defeat]. We have informed the board, so I am sure they are thinking about [better pitches]. They gave us hope that they would make things better. It is up to them how they will improve conditions back home,” said Taskin as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
We had to go hard at their big total: Taskin
The batting woes of Bangladesh were evident in both T20Is in Gwalior and Delhi respectively. In the first game, other than Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, no other batter crossed the 15-run mark. In the second game, batters could not convert their starts. Taskin highlighted the batting drawback and lamented that the team could not play to its potential.
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“The average score in Delhi is more than 200 runs. Both [Gwalior and Delhi] were good to bat but we didn’t bat well. We didn’t play to our potential. We didn’t have a good game. We had to go hard at their big total. There’s not much to do in a T20 when the top five or six batters fail,” Taskin added.