Shanto: We simply had a bad day
Shanto said the team had no plans to bat aggressive but batters took the approach themselves to counter Pakistan bowlers
Hosts Bangladesh's batting approach is under scrutiny for the state of misery it is in following a horrific debacle in the ongoing second Test against Pakistan as they need another 25 runs to avoid the follow-on.
The rain-curtailed game at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium got to see some action on day four Tuesday, and was in total control of Pakistan at stumps.
The game resumed with Pakistan batting in their first innings which got declared on 300 for four.
All hell broke loose on Bangladesh when they went out to bat and before the close of play – which was an hour early from the scheduled time due to bad light – Pakistan right-arm spinner Sajid Khan ran havoc while Nauman Ali created pressure from the other end amid overcast condition to condemn the home team to 76 for seven, and on the verge of perhaps a possible defeat.
Only two batters –Shakib al Hasan and Nazmul Hossain Shanto - have been able to score in double figure.
Shakib batting at No 7 is unbeaten on 23 while Shanto scored 30.
Off the seven wickets, Sajid picked up six to register his maiden five-for, best bowling figure in the format and also record the 11th five-wicket haul for Pakistan in 2021, the most they've had in a calendar year.
Bangladesh batters showed they had no real plan and even in critical situation their focus was to score in a hurry, get to that 101-run mark and avoid the follow-on.
They simply gave away the opportunity of driving the game towards a draw with only a day left.
Bangladesh top-order batsman Shanto while speaking to the media at the end of the day informed that the team had no plans to bat aggressive but the batters took the approach themselves to counter the Pakistan bowlers.
“We tried to be aggressive given that the wicket is not favorable to the batters. It was important to score runs as I think being defensive on this wicket creates possibility of getting out. For this I think the betters tried to play shots they are strong in. Unfortunately, we failed in execution. There was no particular team plan with the batting, everyone tried to bat their natural way,” Shanto explained.
“Speaking of the execution – you will not be successful every day. It did not happen today but may happen in the next day or another game. But it is not that we are not capable of doing this. We simply had a bad day,” the left-handed batsman added.
With a possible defeat looming, Shanto emphasized that Bangladesh can revive in the game through good execution with the bat if they get to come out again in the second innings.
“I think the start (Wednesday) is very important. If Shakib bhai and Taijul (Islam) bhai get a partnership going we will be in a better situation. And it is also important that if we have to bat again in the game, we will have to come better with execution,” said Shanto.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/sport/2021/12/07/shanto-we-simply-had-a-bad-day