Daily Times

Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan hit out at the Tigers’ lack of “fight” after a 50-run rout by India effectively ended their T20 World Cup dreams. Saturday’s mauling was Bangladesh’s second defeat in the Super Eights after an opening loss to Australia.

“We were always thinking that we came to do something good and we will do it,” said former skipper Shakib who was playing in his 128th T20 international.

“But if you look at the result or the performance on the ground, actually we couldn’t show any fight in that way. It’s disappointing.”

Chasing 197 to win, Bangladesh stumbled to 146-8 in their 20 overs against India with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto top scoring with 40. Making runs has been a problem for Bangladesh throughout the tournament with Towhid Hridoy their top run-getter with a modest 139 across six innings.

Shakib was the only player to make a 50 when he hit an undefeated 64 in the first round victory against the Netherlands. “I don’t know how long it will take,” said the 37-year-old Shakib when asked to put a timeframe on Bangladesh winning a world title. “When we played with two big teams, who were maybe the closest contenders for the World Cup, our gap with them was clearly visible.