IND vs BAN
The idea that spinner Nasum Ahmed “intentionally” bowled a wide ball to deprive Virat Kohli of a century near the end of India’s chase in their World Cup match has been refuted by stand-in captain Najmul Hossain Shanto of Bangladesh. Ahmed hit a shot down the leg side on Thursday when Kohli was batting at 97 with nine overs remaining and India needed two more runs to reach the goal of 257. Surprisingly, the on-field umpire, Richard Kettleborough, did not call the delivery wide.
After a few deliveries, in the 42nd over, Kohli hit a six to end the match, taking his team to 103 runs without being dismissed and capping India’s easy victory.
After Bangladesh’s third straight loss, Shanto spoke up for Ahmed, claiming they intended to play a “proper game”.
“No, no,” It was not a strategy like that. That plan was typical. Not a single bowler intended to bowl a wide ball. We attempted to play a suitable game. Shanto stated to the reporters here on Thursday that it was not deliberate.
Shanto was disappointed that two of their batsmen, Litton Das (66) and Tanzid Hasan (53) who were both in the opening inning, did not reach double figures despite reaching their respective fifties.
He remarked, “I think we are not taking the responsibility, even though we have had big runs before.”
For those who are getting set here, let me state that it would have been simpler for Mushi (Mushfiqur Rahim), Towhid (Hridoy), or Mahmudullah (Riyad) if Litton or Tanzid could have played 120-130 run innings. He claimed that both the middle order and the set players struggled to score runs at bat.
Shanto, who took charge of the team when usual captain Shakib Al Hasan was unable to play due to a quad injury, defended the team’s preparations for the dominant Indian squad.
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To be perfectly honest, the preparation was excellent. The upper order, where we were having trouble, performed nicely,” he remarked.
Although Shakib’s availability has not yet been officially announced, Shanto stated that Bangladesh hopes to have their captain back in the team shortly.
