"Our batters don't know how to score 180 runs" Najmul Hossain Shanto blames batsmen after loss in 1st IND vs BAN T20I

Najmul Hossain Shanto admitted that playing on “140-150” pitches in Bangladesh has hurt his team away from home.

In an explosive post-match press conference after the 1st IND vs BAN T20I, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto heavily criticised the top-order batsmen, particularly the openers, following the loss in Gwalior.

On a good batting pitch at the New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, Bangladesh were bowled out for 127 runs in 19.5 overs with Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy taking three wickets each for India. For the visitors, only one batsman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, crossed the 30-run mark. India gunned down the target in only 11.5 overs.

Shanto, who scored 27 runs off 25 balls while batting at number 3, lamented the lack of hefty contributions from his batsmen. He also cited playing on middling-scoring pitches at home as a reason for his batsmen’s failures to post big totals away from home on batting-friendly surfaces.

“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,” the Bangladesh captain said.

“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 added.

Powerplay is definitely a worry: Najmul Hossain Shanto

Bangladesh managed only 39 runs in the powerplay while India whacked 71. Shanto criticised Bangladesh’s struggles in the powerplay that have been hurting them for a while. The opening partnership has scored a total of only 69 runs in their last eight matches.

“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. 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 Hossain Shanto lamented.

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