We really need to think about our batting going forward: Shanto

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto heaped praise on his bowlers but admitted that they have to think about their batting going forward.

The bowlers did their job in almost every match in the T20 World Cup but the batters rarely turned up and on Tuesday, they failed to chase a modest target of 116 against Afghanistan. 

Bangladesh had to chase down the target in 12.1 overs to secure an unprecedented semifinal spot but in the end the target itself was too many for them.

Only two Bangladesh batters – Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das – scored fifties and they were one of the slowest-scoring teams in the tournament. 

The bowling, on the other hand, was superb as almost all of the members of the group contributed. 

Against Afghanistan, Bangladesh were well on course but a middle-order meltdown saw them fall eight runs short of the target.

“I think we bowled really well, we did lots of good things but as a batting unit, we made poor decision especially in the middle overs and that’s what cost us today,” Shanto said in his post-match interview. 

Bangladesh did show positive intent early in the innings for a spot in the semis but early wickets saw them go back to the usual template on a difficult pitch.

“The plan was to go hard in the first six overs, if we lost early wickets, the plan was to bat normally, but that didn’t happen and the middle-order couldn’t execute,” he said.

“The batting needs to improve, our top-order didn’t perform well. Going forward, we really need to think about our batting,” Shanto added.