Not converting starts to centuries hurt Bangladesh in WC, says Sriram
Bangladesh crossed the 300-run mark for the first time in the ongoing World Cup in their very last match of the showpiece event against Australia in Pune today on a surface that had many more runs on offer.
Towhid Hridoy's 75 off 79 balls coupled with contributions from almost every batter helped the Tigers post 306-8 in a flat track at the Maharasthra Cricket Association Stadium.
From the opening pair of Liton Das and Tanzid Hasan to the No.7 batter Mehedi Hasan Miraz, every Bangladesh batter got starts in the match, but none of them could convert it into a three-figure score.
Both openers departed after making identical 36, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mahmudullah made 45 and 32 respectively before getting run out while Towhid's slog at a full-toss brought his demise.
With the innings, Bangladesh ended their tournament with just one century scored by Mahmudullah in a losing cause against South Africa.
This lack of big innings has been one of the main reasons behind Bangladesh's poor showing in the tournament, feels the team's technical consultant Sridharan Sriram.
"The batters failed to convert their starts. That will be the biggest learning that everybody would take out of this World Cup," Sriram told The Daily Star before the Australia match.
This World Cup has already witnessed 32 hundreds till the Bangladesh innings against Australia, the highest in all 13 editions of the tournament.
But Bangladeshi batters have failed to make use of the flat tracks in India and have suffered because of it.
"In India I think hundreds are so very important. The teams that have reached the semifinals, their batters scored hundreds and double hundreds and big hundreds. So, if you look at the top four teams and the bottom teams such as England, their batters are not getting hundreds.
"Afghanistan got a hundred and they pushed for a place in the semis and again for Pakistan, someone like Babar Azam had a disappointing tournament as well. So I think hundreds were the key," said the former India international.
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