Small slip-ups cost Bangla the match: Mashrafe

The Tigers lost the match by three wickets with nine balls to spare at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. The second straight defeat has virtually snuffed out their chances of a semifinal spot in the showcase event. Asked to bat first, Bangladesh posted a respectable 156-5. 

The bowlers then staged a late fightback to cut the margin of defeat. “If we could take a couple of early wickets, the match might have turned out different. In batting, we lost wickets regularly at the start and in the middle, that prevented us from reaching 170,” Mashrafe said after the match. “This ground offers big scores. If we had been able to avoid the small mistakes the match could have been different.” 

Bangladesh were poor in the field, letting two straightforward catches go begging. A Shane Watson skier was dropped in the sixth over before John Hastings was given a reprieve in the 18th. Mashrafe’s captaincy, too, left a lot to be desired as the Aussie batsmen easily handled his bowling changes and field placements. 

“Speaking about the small mistakes… there are a couple of places where the decision-making could have been better. I think if the batsmen and bowlers, including myself, had done a little better, the match might have gone our way,” Mashrafe said. But he  was keen on going into the next match with confidence after testing Australia.

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