Rahim blames reckless batting

A dejected Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim blasted his top-order batsmen for irresponsible batting display in the second one-day international against West Indies on Saturday.

Bangladesh were reeling at 4-18 and some resistance in the middle and lower middle order helped them post 220 which the West Indians overhauled quite comfortably for the loss of two wickets to clinch the three-match ODI series with an unassailable 2-0 lead.

‘Definitely I am frustrated,’ Mushfiq told reporters at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium after the match.  ‘I think the top-order batsmen batted irresponsibly,’ said Mushfiq.

‘Today it was a do or die match for us so we should have been more responsible. They [top-orders] played well before so I had faith in them but they let us down today,’ said Mushfiq.

Mushfiq could not figure out how the batsmen had failed after he took batting after winning the toss as he felt it was a placid wicket to bat on.

‘In this kind of flat wicket  after winning the toss I took batting where there was nothing extraordinary in the wicket but if we fail then its disappointing,’ said Mushfiq.

‘You see there was no sideways movement or anything so I thought the batsmen needed to go out there and settle down,’ said Mushfiq.

‘If someone of us did it then the scenario would have been different. After you are 4-18 it’s quite difficult to make a comeback and more so after they are playing an extra bowler,’ said Mushfiq.

Musfiq said they had planned not to lose wickets in the early stages.

‘Because there were two new balls and their main strength was pace we did not want to lose wickets in the first 10 overs even if the score is 30 to 35,’ said Mushfiq.

‘We thought we can catch up if we have wickets in hand. But unfortunately we lost three quick wickets so we could not catch up,’ he added.

‘We failed to stick to our plans because our top-order played some bad shots. If we lose a wicket early then it is the duty of the batsmen to stay at the wicket,’ said Mushfiq.

‘We always say it in the team meeting as it becomes very difficult to come back if we lose a couple of early wickets,’ he added.

‘At the start of the series I said if we want to give a fight in the series or win a match then the batsmen need to contribute 60 to 70 percent ,’ said Mushfiq.

‘I think the bowlers always did well but we must give a target to defend. If we don’t take more responsibility then we cannot win matches even if it is on our home soil,’ he added.

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