‘We were 15-20 runs short’

Bangladesh T20 skipper Shakib Al Hasan said during the post-match ceremony that Tigers were 15 to 20 runs short of the total they needed on the board to win against Afghanistan.

Afghanistan had restricted Bangladesh to just 134 after Shakib won the toss and elected to bat. The difference between the two sides was evident in the way Bangladesh played their last six overs. Tigers only managed 35 runs for the loss of four wickets from a score of 99 for four after 14. 

With Afghanistan needing 20 off the last two overs, Mohammad Nabi played a heroic cameo innings to see Afghanistan home with seven balls to spare. The Bangladesh innings never got going despite batsmen getting positive starts. Shakib identified a low total as the reason for the defeat.

"We bowled and fielded well but were 15-20 short. Kept losing wickets after a good start. They kept up the pressure in the middle overs and we kept on losing wickets. That's where we lost," he said.

Rashid Khan was the star of the show with the ball as he picked up four wickets for just 12 runs and the Bangladesh skipper praised the leg spinner for his exploits. "Rashid bowled really well, they have some world class spinners who are doing their job. We have to come up with better plans to handle them and put up better totals with the bat. I thought our seamers executed well, in this sort of wicket, it's hard to defend 135 but credit to the way we fought out.