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Batting is again under scrutiny as Bangladesh look to level the series in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today.

The match is scheduled to start at 3:00pm, and T Sports will telecast it live. 

Bangladesh were in a strong position at 100-1 while chasing 245 but a dramatic collapse saw them lose seven wickets for five runs, and they eventually lost the match by 77 runs in the first ODI.

The middle order failed to take the responsibility as Liton Das, Towhid Hridoy, and captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz managed just one run between them. 

But Tanzid Hasan, who was the top scorer of Bangladesh in that innings with a 61-ball 62 runs, said that the responsibilities should have been taken by the set batters like him or Najmul Hossain Shanto.  

‘The way the wicket was behaving, if someone gets set, he needs to play a long innings and take the team home,’ Tanzid said ahead of the second match. ‘Me and Shanto bhai, the way we were batting at that time, if we could have stayed for another 5-10 overs, the match would have been much easier.’ 

He then urged the batters getting a start to go deep. 

The left-handed batter said, ‘Just one message for the next match: for those who are new to the wicket, it’s a bit difficult at first, but set batters need to bat long, bat deep, and take the game to the end.’

Handling spin in a challenging condition will also be crucial as Sri Lankan spinners took eight wickets in the first match. 

The tormentor-in-chief was Sri Lanka’s leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who took four wickets for just 10 runs. 

‘And against Hasaranga, the left-hand batters need to take as much strike as possible since he is not as effective against left-handers compared to right-handers,’ said Tanzid. 

Tanzid also tried to find some positives from their 77-run drubbing in the first match. 

He said, ‘There were positives in the previous match. The bowling and fielding were good; we got a good start in the batting as well.

‘But what happened next was unexpected. I’d rather say we were unfortunate too. Because these things don’t occur often in a match,’ he added. 

He also stated that Bangladesh would take one match at a time to stay alive in the series. 

‘I don’t think I played well. I didn’t fulfil the team’s requirements. If I had fulfilled that, then I would have said that I played well. But there is a chance to make a comeback,’ he said. 

‘It’s a three-match series. One match is done. The next one is important. If we can make a comeback, then In Sha Allah, we will still be in the tournament.’