Bangladesh national team captain Liton Das expressed his disappointment with the underperformance in all three areas—batting, bowling, and fielding—following his side’s 37-run defeat to Pakistan in the first match of the three-match T20I series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday.
Chasing 202, Bangladesh managed 164 in 19.2 overs after losing their last eight wickets for just 64 runs as pacer Hasan Ali, who was playing his first international match after more than a year, claimed five wickets.
This was Bangladesh’s third defeat in a row as they lost the series 2-1 to the UAE earlier.
They will face Pakistan in the second match today at 9:00pm Bangladesh Standard Time at the same venue.
Bangladesh, though, started the first match on a positive note as the two Pakistan openers fell cheaply after the hosts chose to bat first on a flat track.
But a strong display from the middle order and a quickfire finish helped Pakistan to post a big total.
Liton juggled his bowlers but couldn’t find the timely breakthroughs. The Bangladesh captain had Shamim Hossain bowl four overs, who had previously bowled two overs in his entire career.
This was the first time after four matches that the Bangladesh innings saw more than five bowlers, and each were among the wickets.
The fielding started positively but seemed to have lost the rhythm as the innings progressed. There were a couple of run-out chances missed as well.
Despite losing Parvez Hossain cheaply, Tanzid Hasan brought a good start for Bangladesh. But the left-hander once again couldn’t capitalise on the start he got, as he was bowled by Hasan with a slower and angling delivery after making 31 off 17.
Liton, who scored 48 off 30, looked in fine touch until he was caught at backward point off Shadab.
Liton’s wicket opened the floodgate for Pakistan as Bangladesh lost four wickets for just 24 runs and were eventually out of the race.
‘Of course it was [disappointing]. We didn’t bat well, bowl well, and field well all over the match. We have to turn things around; still, we’ve got two matches ahead,’ said Liton after the match.
Liton emphasised the need for consistency in their performances.
‘We need consistency. Not only in batting and bowling; we also need to field well. It’s a fast format, and you need to file well. We are not fielding well at the moment,’ the Bangladesh captain added.
He also said that 200 runs were gettable in Lahore.
 ‘200 is chaseable on this ground because the ground is so fast, and the wicket was pretty good to bat on. We don’t bat well in the middle as well. We have to come back strongly,’ said Liton.
Liton, however, praised Jaker Ali’s effort, who made 36 off 20 while hitting three sixes.
‘Jaker Ali, the last one year, he played really well. He’s the key player at the moment. But one player can’t win the game. We have to contribute from everyone,’ he added.
