Bangladesh’s Najmul Hossain Shanto Talks About Tough Loss to Afghanistan in T20 World Cup

Kingstown [St. Vincent], June 25: Bangladesh’s cricket captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, shared his thoughts on their recent match against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh aimed to chase down Afghanistan’s score of 116 to reach the semi-finals but faced difficulties after losing several wickets early on.

Afghanistan scored 115/5, giving Bangladesh and Australia a chance to make it to the final four. Bangladesh needed to achieve the target in 12.1 overs to qualify, while Australia would advance if Bangladesh failed to do so.

Bangladesh struggled early, losing three wickets for just 23 runs in 2.5 overs. Shanto explained that their initial plan was to score quickly in the first six overs, but losing early wickets forced them to change their strategy.

“The plan was to score in the first six overs. If we started well and didn’t lose early wickets, we would take the chance. But after losing three early wickets, our plan changed to just winning the match,” Shanto said in the post-match press conference.

Towhid Hridoy and Litton Das tried to keep Bangladesh in the game with some good shots, but Afghanistan’s bowlers, especially Noor Ahmed and Rashid Khan, kept the pressure on. Bangladesh managed to score 75/5 by the 9th over, but Afghanistan’s disciplined bowling led to Bangladesh being all out for 105 in 17.5 overs.

Shanto admitted that poor decisions by the middle order contributed to their loss. “The batting group made a lot of poor decisions,” he added.

With this result, Afghanistan secured a spot in the semi-final against South Africa.