Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed his disappointment with the outcome of the second T20I against the USA at the Prairie View Complex in Houston on Thursday. This defeat sealed a 2-0 series loss for the Tigers, marking the USA's first T20I series win over a Test nation.
While Bangladesh restricted the USA to a modest 144 for 6, their batting faltered on the slow wicket. Wickets tumbled in clusters during the middle overs, despite Bangladesh holding the upper hand at one stage with Tawhid Hridoy and Shanto at the crease.
"It's very disappointing for us," admitted Shanto. "We lost wickets in almost every middle over. That's where we lost the match, I believe."
Following their dominant 4-1 series win over Zimbabwe at home, Bangladesh's preparations for this series came under scrutiny. However, Shanto brushed aside concerns about the team's skillset.
"We haven't played well, to be honest. But this is a valuable opportunity to learn and execute our plans better in the next match. I hope we can show some good cricket. It's not a skill issue; we need a change in mentality and mindset. We haven't performed well in the last two matches," he emphasised.
Ali Khan, the USA's match-winner, praised his bowling partner for the penultimate over and explained his bowling strategy in the final over. "A lot of credit goes to Saurabh too. He bowled a superb 19th over, conceding only two or three runs and picking up a wicket. That put me in a stronger position to defend and ultimately win the game," he said.
Rishad Hossain put Ali under pressure in the final over by hitting a boundary, but Ali revealed that this was part of the plan to force the batter to play against the wind.
"My plan was to get the wicket. It was just one wicket to win. They didn't have many wickets remaining. I backed myself and my strengths to take the wicket early. I tried bouncers and full deliveries, but Rishad put pressure back on me. Then I went back to my strength of full deliveries and thankfully got the wicket," he explained.
"It was the last wicket, and the tailenders were batting. We thought a short ball might be skied against the wind, and we had the field set for it. However, Rishad played a controlled shot for four, so credit to him. But I came back to my strengths and secured the win," Ali concluded.
