Batting worries for Bangladesh

There was not much to write home about hosts Bangladesh’s batting as opener Mohammed Mithun (47 off 41 balls) and Mahmudullah (36 off 27 balls) emerged as the top-scorer. 

“Our batting has been a concern for us, hopefully we’ll learn from our mistakes today and look to deliver in the next few matches,” Mortaza said after his team dismissed UAE for 82 in 17.4 overs. 

“We were looking for 150 on this wicket, Mahmudullah played sensibly, the last over was good for us. we needed early wickets and we got it and the game was on from there on.”

“We got a good seam attack, outside of this team, there are 2-3 more. They are young and have many years to serve Bangladesh cricket. I’m very close to finish, and do my best till I can,” he added.

His UAE counterpart, Amjad Javed also rued their missed opportunities and blamed the batsmen for the defeat. “We are making a habit of this, bowling out teams for 135, but we’ll go back and look at our batting and come back strong after fixing the batting problem. Playing against India and Pakistan will be a learning curve for us,” he said. 

Mahmdullah, who scored 36 runs and took two wickets, was adjudged the Man of the Match. “I’m always waiting for my zone to get the ball, if I get the ball I’ll go for it. If I bat at 6 or 7, I have to finish the match. So I play the role of a finisher,” he said. 

Mortaza said young pacer Mustafizur Rahman proved how mentally strong he is in the match against the UAE after a forgettable match against India. 

He urged fans not to burden Rahman with expectations in all matches. Mustafizur gave 40 runs in four overs in the Asia Cup opener against India.