Nidahas Trophy tri-nation series Bangladesh vs srilanka 2 t20:Taskin ahmed felt that Tigers fell short by 25 to 30 runs during their innings against India Buoyed by their win over India in the curtain-raiser of the Nidahas Trophy tri-nation competition, Sri Lanka will head into their second game of the competition on Saturday – against Bangladesh – brimming with confidence. Fast Bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake addressed journalists after training on Friday at the R. Premadasa Stadium, where all seven games of the tournament are played and explained the concept of playing smart cricket, something insisted by Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Their chase against India, in which the middle order latched on to the fast start made by the top order, was quite pleasing. Although Kusal Mendis fell cheaply, Kusal Perera struck a superb 66 off 37 balls before big hitters Dasun Shanaka and Thisara Perera rounded it off with precision. It might have been against a second-string India attack, but Sri Lanka were happy to beat them. They would, however, be slightly worried about their bowlers. Akila Dananjaya went wicketless, and Nuwan Pradeep was carted around, which meant part-timers Jeevan Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka had to share six overs. Their fast bowlers, including Thisara Perera, would be inclined to bowl short at the Bangladesh batsmen, given their moderate success using this length earlier this year.Taskin felt that Tigers fell short by 25 to 30 runs during their innings against India. At the end of the first ten overs, Bangladesh were 69 for the loss of three wickets. While the run rate was not being pushed up, Tigers also faltered with their aggression – in this case trying too many expansive shots. Bangladesh could only manage a total of 139 for eight as they picked up 70 runs in the last 10 overs – 32 came off the last five. Bangladesh played an extraordinary number of dot balls and maybe better shot selection could have seen the Tigers add at least another 25 to 30 runs. Taskin opined that slogging is a necessity in the death overs but it is not easy. “We are still practicing, bowlers bat a lot more in the nets than previously. The thing is during that during the death overs there is a necessity to slog and we are practicing for that…but it is not as easy as it seems.” He concluded that if they had started well at the beginning then the end of the innings could have seen them add more runs on the board. Facing Sri Lanka’s short-ball barrage is one of several problems Bangladesh could face. Their 139 for 8 against India was not just sub-par, but a reflection of their mentality. They played out 68 dot balls as they mistimed several attempts to hit boundaries. Even Liton Das and Sabbir Rahman, who got out in the thirties, were guilty of eating up dot balls. Mushfiqur Rahim got out at the wrong time. What will encourage Bangladesh would be their bowling, which looked slightly improved in the India game. Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain and Mehidy Hasan bowled well, as did Nazmul Islam, although he was underbowled. Having lost 13 of their last 14 T20Is, though, they will need to find ways to build on these small gains. “As I always say, the talent was aplenty in our team. It’s just that the mindset of the boys – and I think coach Hathu has come in taken maximum part in that. I would say that he has changed their mindset by letting them do the things on their own,” Ratnayake said. “It’s all about smart options. I think he lets people take smart options and even if they fail, he will say ‘well, that was good enough, let’s try again next time’. For an example, you tell a boy to go and play some shots but if he gets out, you can’t ask him ‘why did you play that shot?’ So he’s a man of his word. And we have given the players that confidence and if it has shown in the boys that’s good, but consistency is what we’re looking for in the future,” he added. Explaining further on playing smart cricket, Ratnayake said, “What is smart cricket? It’s about adapting to in-game situations quickly. What Hathu has done since he came in is that he has given the players the freedom to make those decisions. According to the situation, if there needs to be change in the strike and going to the other side that’s what we have to do. Then let’s say there are two balls to score 10 runs and how we go about it. We are talking of taking the smart options and evaluate those smart options at the end of the day.”]]>
Thu. Apr 18th, 2024
