Bangladesh vs New Zealand: ‘Broken’ Bangladesh hope to turn it around against New Zealand
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza on Friday admitted they were in a state of sorrow in the aftermath of their inexplicable one-run loss to India but hoped they would return home with their heads held high by winning against New Zealand in their concluding league fixture of ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on Saturday.
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“The whole team is in a state of sorrow, everyone is broken. Nobody is blaming anyone but we’ve somehow accepted the defeat. Everyone was very upset. They just could not talk to each other. It was so disappointing,” Mortaza said summing up the team’s mood after their loss in Bengaluru.
“We have never lost this way. We have to play our best again. If we get the opportunity, we have to make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes. The conditions are similar but the wicket is different. New Zealand are on top clearly, whereas we lost all three. We will try our best.”
Mortaza further said saying ‘sorry’ to their fans would not be enough and they would try to play hard to put the disappointment behind and try to get over the line against the unstoppable Black Caps.
“Even if we say sorry it’s not going to be enough. We just have to think positive that we still have a match left, we have to play hard, and try to win. New Zealand have beaten India in these conditions, so they’re a strong team.”
READ: Difficult to pick positives after shocking one-run loss, says Mashrafe Mortaza
Chasing 147, Bangladesh needed just two runs from the last three balls and they managed to lose three wickets, the last one in the form of a run out through a class act by Indian skipper MS Dhoni.
“Playing in front of about 40,000 crowd, we had a good chance to beat them but we could not… That was so shocking. Boys got some chance to regroup. We still have a match and if we do well may be something we can take back home.
“No point thinking about the past. It’s not going to be the last match. We have to think we have one match left. We have to play our best and try to win,” Mortaza said.
Blaming it on their inexperience, he added: “Inexperience is still there. We have not faced such a situation maybe. Hope we will turn it around. If we can learn from this mistakes hope we will win more difficult matches from hereon.”
Known for their passionate crowd support that followed the Tigers here, he said: “At the moment we can’t think about others. All Bangladeshis are very passionate about cricket. It’s very disappointing. The way we lost, we can’t really describe, there’s no word left…”
“It’s our job to give back. They support us through bad and good times. I can’t explain this match. Everyone is disappointed. The way they have supported is outstanding. They will be with us. We will try to play best.”
There inexplicable loss meant that the Bangladeshi captain has come under fire and Mortaza took all the blame.
“We needed two from three balls. We’ve to accept the criticism. We should have won it easily. Whatever people say, We don’t have anything to say. It’s acceptable. The situation was such that anyone can give any kind of comment.
“We knew it was a tough group, it was a close match. It’s difficult. We had 48 hours to ponder about it. Obviously we can’t change what happened.”
Talking about their spirited show, he said: “Minus our loss against Pakistan, we did well against Australia and India. Till last three balls, we were there in match. Against Australia, we didn’t play bad cricket.”
Despite their group stage exit, Mortaza further said Bangladesh Cricket was improving steadily.
“It’s difficult to compare. We have prepared a good team. We have reached a stage in last one-two years. We have reached quarterfinal in the ODI World Cup. Condition, situation was it was difficult but still we played close match.
“World Cup is a stage you have to give your best. We have made some mistakes despite playing good. Hopefully we will be a different team from the next World Cup.”
Asked whether he would try to be less emotional by taking a cue from his celebrated Indian counterpart Dhoni, he disagreed: “Emotion is something it’s difficult to go away from person to person. It helps sometimes. It’s working for us. It varies person to person.”
There also has been call for his retirement and he quipped: “I will think after returning home.”
