Tamim Iqbal. COURTESY
Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal was disappointed at the manner with which his side batted against New Zealand in the first ODI, stating that they threw away their wickets in the key moments of the game, which made the eventual difference.
The Tigers were bowled out for just 131 in 41.5 overs in the match, a paltry total that was not enough to defend against a rampant home side, who overhauled the target with 132-2 in 21.2 overs.
“I thought there were too many soft dismissals. No doubt they bowled really well, but we have ourselves to blame,” Tamim said after the match today at the University of Otago in Dunedin.
“We take pride in our batting and that was nowhere near enough,” the captain regretted.
Bangladesh had a five-day practice camp with an inter-squad warm-up game before taking on the Kiwis. Earlier they had some small group sessions during their quarantine period. While many argued that the preparations was not enough to play against a side, which traditionally is outright favourite at their home soil, Tamim claimed that they turned up in the match with adequate preparation under their belt.
“We had a couple of days here, I cannot complain about our preparation. It’s not new to us, we know what to expect. And we hope we put up a better performance,” he informed.
The only positive thing in an utterly disappointing match was Mahedi Hasan, who made his ODI debut. Mahedi scored a vital 14 runs including a four against New Zealand’s best bowler Trent Boult and delivered a tight six overs.
Tamim praised the way Mahedi came up in the game. “Mahedi’s first shot was nice, I would have loved for him to continue. He bowled well today, he showed character.”
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