‘That one over made the difference’

Mosaddek Hossain, Bangladesh skipper for the third and series-deciding T20I against Zimbabwe, mentioned that one over from Nasum Ahmed made the difference at the Harare Sports Club yesterday.

The Tigers lost the final T20I by 10 runs, losing the three-match series 2-1 -- the first time that Bangladesh have lost a bilateral T20I series against Zimbabwe.

Mosaddek pinned the blame on that particular over, which cost 34 runs.

"In the first 14 overs, we were on top. But I think that 15th over made the difference in the game," Mosaddek, who was named captain for the game after skipper for the series Nurul Hasan Sohan was sidelined from the entire tour due to a finger injury, said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Zimbabwe's left-handed batter Ryan Burl struck Nasum for a total of five sixes -- four on the trot off the first four deliveries -- and a boundary in the 15th over, changing the course of the innings and shifting the momentum towards Zimbabwe, who were on 67 for six runs in 13 overs after electing to bat.

Thanks to Burl's carnage, Zimbabwe were able to post a competitive total of 156 for eight. Burl, who picked up his second T20I fifty on way to a boundary-laden 28-ball 54, said he always had faith in the depth of their batting unit.

"Losing a few wickets early was not ideal. But we have got quite a lot of depth in the batting line-up, so we were very confident," Burl said.
Asked what he had in mind when he walked out to the ground with Zimbabwe reeling at 55 for five in 9.1 overs, he spoke about trusting in the process that they have been following as a team lately. "Just trusting the process. I just tried to stay positive and take the positive options," Burl, the player of the match, added.

While Zimbabwe had faith in their batting depth, the scenario was almost the opposite in the Bangladesh camp. Skipper Moasaddek reiterated that losing wickets at regular intervals made the Tigers' task of chasing a steep target even harder.

"If you are losing wickets every over in T20 cricket then it is always difficult to chase down [a target]. But I think Afif [Hossain] played really well," Mosaddek added.

Mosaddek, however, remained confident that Bangladesh would bounce back in the upcoming three-match ODI series, scheduled to begin from August 5 at the same venue.