Bangladesh鈥檚 inability to go big after promising starts once again came under scrutiny following their seven-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in their first T20I in Pallekele on Thursday.
Despite a solid start, the Tigers stumbled in the middle overs and ended with a below-par 154 for five, a total Sri Lanka chased down with ease and an over to spare.
Bangladesh played an eleven with four openers at the top, two of whom, Mohammad Naim (32) and Parvez Hossain Emon (38), scored 30-plus knocks, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored 29, but none could reach the fifty-mark.
However, for the hosts, Kusal Mendis struck a half-century (73 off 42) and Pathum Nissanka played a rapid 42 off 16 balls, which exposed the Tigers鈥� poor batting approach.
Spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed believes the batters鈥� failure to turn 30s and 40s into bigger scores was a decisive factor in the match.
鈥榃hen a batsman is in form and gets 30s or 40s, the next challenge is to convert those into 70s and 80s,鈥� Mushtaq told reporters after the game.
He pointed to Sri Lanka鈥檚 Kusal as a model of consistency. 鈥楾hat鈥檚 what Kusal did 鈥� he consistently made those big scores, and that鈥檚 why he troubled our bowling attack. For us, one of our batsmen needs to do the same,鈥�
While Bangladesh showed gleams of aggression 鈥� including a reverse-sweep six by Shamim Hossain 鈥� Mushtaq said execution in crucial moments was missing.
鈥楽hamim showed positive intent with that reverse-sweep six right after coming in. But to post winning totals on challenging pitches, you need to bat long and convert those starts into bigger scores.鈥�
Openers Emon and Tanzid Hasan Tamim were once again among the runs but failed to push on to play a match-defining knock.
Bangladesh scored 54 runs during the first powerplay but found themselves at 116-4 after 16 overs, eventually ended up with a total that Mushtaq had identified as a below-par score on the surface.
鈥楪ood partnerships and the ability to bat longer will take us a long way,鈥� Mushtaq said, noting that building innings and batting deep remain key goals for the side.
Mehidy and Naim added 61 runs off 52 balls in a steady stand, but the slow batting left questions about intent with power-hitting ability.
Skipper Liton Das was the only batter unable to reach double figures, dismissed lbw after scoring six. He also called for the batting unit to improve.
鈥榃e didn鈥檛 get many runs. It鈥檚 not just today鈥檚 game, last 7-8 matches, I think the batters who are in have to take responsibility,鈥� Liton said in the post-match presentation.
Bangladesh will play the second T20I against Sri Lanka at the Dambulla International Stadium on Sunday.
