Bangladesh’s ODI captain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, remained disappointed in their batting unit after their poor showing in the defeat against Afghanistan in the second ODI held in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, October 11.
Having to chase down just 191 runs, Bangladesh were unable to put together a comprehensive effort despite the low score, as they were unable to respond to Rashid Khan’s magic with the ball, as he ended up taking a five-wicket haul.
Speaking after the game, the Bangladesh skipper did not mince his words and was critical of their performance in the second innings.
“We bowled really well. We could have chased this. Very bad batting. We needed to get partnerships in the top order. It would have been a different scenario,” Mehidy Hasan Miraz shared in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“No batter took responsibility. We are disappointed. We have one match left. We have to come back strongly. The batters need to improve and take responsibility,” he added.
Afghanistan put together a fighting total thanks to Ibrahim Zadran’s brilliant showing in what looked to be difficult conditions as he went on to score a gritty 95 off 140, pushing Afghanistan to set a 191-run target.
The Bangladesh batting unit crumbled early on after Azmatullah Omarzai’s brilliant start in the powerplay, where he took three wickets to put Bangladesh under pressure. Saif Hassan at the top and Towhid Hridoy at No.4 seemed to get starts but failed to capitalise on them and help Bangladesh in the chase. This was then followed by in the middle overs, where he went on to take five wickets as Bangladesh struggled to get going.
With this win, Afghanistan have already secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and will look to complete a whitewash to once again cement themselves as a top draw in Asia. Meanwhile, for Bangladesh, it is back to the drawing board as they will look to put together a much better showing of themselves to redeem themselves in the final game of the series.