| Despite a slump in form, Bangladesh are confident to comeback strongly as they take on Pakistan in the second T20 International at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore tomorrow (Friday). The match which starts at 9 PM will be aired live on T Sports.
The second game is important for Bangladesh to stay alive in the three-match series following their 37-run defeat to the hosts in the match.
Bangladesh vowed to rectify all mistakes to come back strongly against Pakistan after their shocking 2-1 loss to United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this month, but they appeared clueless in all three departments.
Despite giving Pakistan an early jolt, the Bangladesh bowlers failed to keep up the pressure and allowed the opponents to post 201-7, a target which was chaseable but their mindless batting show continued as they were wrapped up for 164 in 19.2 overs.
Pacer Hasan Ali wreaked havoc on them on batting paradise, claiming his career-best 5-30.
How they surrendered yet again didn`t give any hope that they could turn things around.
But skipper Liton Das stayed upbeat.
"All over the game, we didn`t bowl well, bat well and field well. I`m not saying anything about... But we have to come back strongly. We have two games still," Liton said after the match.
"Not only bowling and batting, but you have to field well. And we didn`t field well throughout the game. 200 is chaseable on this ground, because the ground is so fast, and the wicket was pretty good to bat on."
Despite losing opener Parvez Hossain Emon cheaply, Bangladesh got into the groove quickly to take the stranglehold of the match with Liton particularly in supreme touch. He unleashed a cover drive in precision to make the bowlers disarray while Tanzid Tamim was audacious, striking sixes at will.
After Tanzid`s dismissal, Towhid Hridoy though slowed the game down, Liton still kept the team in the hunt with breathtaking stroke. However his dismissal led to the downfall as Bangladesh lost the last seven wickets for 64 runs.
Liton emphasized doing well in the middle overs, saying that apart from Jaker Ali Anik, no one could take the onus.
"We don`t bat well in the middle as well. We have to come back strongly. Jaker Ali has been playing well in the last year. He`s the key player at the moment. But one player can`t win the game," he said.
The defeat meant Bangladesh lost all four matches they played on Pakistani soil. Overall, they lost 17 matches and won just three in 20 meetings against Pakistan.
Bangladesh is likely to tinker with the playing XI in the second game in a bid to level the series, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz replacing one of the middle-order batters.
No wonder Pakistan will be keen to confirm the series with a match to spare after such a dominating performance in the series opening game. They ticked all the boxes in the first match although their openers failed to come to terms.
Bangladesh squad: Liton Das (captain), Mahedi Hasan, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Patwari, Jaker Ali Anik, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Shoriful Islam.
Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub.
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