‘This is the match we should have won’: Shanto after heartbreaking defeat against South Africa
Bangladesh agonisingly fell four runs short in a low-scoring thriller against South Africa in the T20 World Cup match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Monday.
The match went into the last over with Bangladesh needing 11 runs. They had Mahmudullah and Jaker Ali at the crease. Jaker departed before Mahmudullah who survived a run-out scare but fell short trying to hit a maximum off a low full toss from Maharaj in the fifth delivery. That eventually saw Bangladesh falling four runs short of the target of 114 runs set by the Proteas.
Bangladesh had their fair share of luck that went against their way. Mahmudullah was on 15 when he was wrongly adjudged lbw (off Baartman) by Sam Nogajski in the 17th over. What’s crucial was that the ball deflected off Mahmudullah’s pads and trickled to the fine leg fence for a boundary. Since it was declared out by the onfield umpire, the ball was deemed dead.
A few balls later, Rabada hardly appealed for leg before and this time Towhid Hridoy was at the receiving end. The ball, according to the ball tracker, went into clip leg bail (umpire’s call on hitting).
Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto admitted this was Bangladesh’s match to win.
“Everyone was nervous, but were confident when Jaker was there. It didn’t happen but that’s okay,” Shanto said at the post-match presentation.
“This is the match we should have won, we nearly did but the last couple of overs they bowled well. It can happen in cricket,” he added.
