Najmul Hossain Shanto: Our batters don’t know how to score 180 runs

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto on Sunday (October 6) said that his team’s inability to score quickly in the powerplay is hurting them in T20Is. 

India defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets with nearly 8 overs to spare in the series opener of the three-match T20I series at Gwalior. It was another disappointing performance for the visitors inside the powerplay, as they could only muster 39 runs in the first six overs after being put into bat and eventually ended with 127 on the board. The hosts, on the other hand, made a mockery of the run chase, hunting down the total in just 11.5 overs. 

Run scoring in the powerplay has been an issue for the Bangla Tigers in the T20Is for quite some time now, and their frailties continued, with the side also struggling with their opening pair for a while. Litton Das (4) played a rash shot that led to his downfall in the first over itself while Parvez Hossain Emon who made a return to T20I cricket, chopped one onto the stumps. 

Bangladesh’s opening partnership in this match was only 5 runs. Altogether, the opening stand has managed only 69 runs in the last eight innings for Bangladesh, with a highest of 35, which has been a major fret for the side. 

"Powerplay is definitely a worry. The approach we talked about (before the game), it will be successful if we make a good start with the bat," Najmul told reporters after the first ODI at the Madhav Rao Scindia Cricket Stadium. "We have to keep the wickets in the first six overs, and score runs in those. Otherwise those coming in next, it becomes too challenging for them. We have struggled in the powerplay. Those batting in the power play must take more responsibility."

Najmul believes skill set and mentality are the primary points of difference between the two slides but added that his team are not as bad as they appeared in the opening match against India on Sunday. 

“I wouldn't say we played badly. We are a better team than this. We haven't done well in this format for a long time, but I don't believe we are such a bad team," said Najmul. "I don't want to talk about any individual player. I think the batting unit didn't do well today. There will be aggression in the way we approach our scoring, but sometimes we have to select the balls correctly. We will think about it, but we can't rush in changing our approach.

"We have the ability, but we have room for improvement in our skills. We have been batting in this way for the last ten years. Sometimes we do well. We have to make some changes, perhaps where we practice back home. We play on 140-150 wickets at home. Our batters don't know how to score 180 runs. I won't blame just the wickets, but we have to consider skills and mentality," he said.