Dubai, October 21, 2021 (PPI-OT):Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah hailed his batters for delivering under pressure after they comfortably beat Papua New Guinea to reach the Super 12s.
Mahmudullah top-scored for the Tigers with a 28-ball 50, while he was ably supported by Shakib al Hasan, Liton Das and Afif Hossain in their team total of 181 for seven.
PNG struggled in reply and lost four wickets in the first five overs before being bowled out for 97, with Shakib’s four for nine seeing him equal Shahid Afridi’s record of 39 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup wickets.
Bangladesh made a slow start to their Group B campaign but since losing to Scotland in their opener, they have vastly improved and Mahmudullah hopes it is a sign of things to come.
“It was much needed. That was the way we wanted to play and there was intent from the batters,” he said.
“If you compare to the last two games, I think we did much better so I think the batters did a very good job to get a 180-plus score.
“The bowlers did well to restrict them to less than 100, so it was a very good all-round performance.
“The two things we are concerned about are the first six overs with the bat and ball.
“If we can get a good start, we can capitalise on it and that is how we have been building up wins. We need to focus on those areas again and try to compete hard.”
Mahmudullah hit six boundaries in his half-century, his sixth score of 50 or better in T20 internationals, including three maximums.
But he admits they lack the power of some Super 12s sides and will need to be clever with the bat if they are going to compete.
“I have said it before, I think we are skill hitters rather than big hitters,” he added.
“If we can keep ourselves busy in the middle, we can try to find out which bowler we can take on that particular day.
“We then need to figure out and communicate with each other as batting partners and try to do well.”
In contrast, PNG’s first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is over after losing all three of their first-round matches.
And captain Assad Vala insists there are plenty of lessons they can take, including how to handle the pressure of playing on the biggest stage.
“We can take a lot from this, we need to execute our skills under pressure, both with the bat and ball, the key phases of the game,” he said.
“We weren’t good enough with the bat. We could have done well but you need to be at your best against this quality of opposition. We look forward to the next opportunity.
“They got the momentum towards the end of their innings but I thought we started well and had them at 40 for one in the powerplay. Their partnership in the middle was big but I thought we pulled it back really well, we just couldn’t execute our death bowling at the end.
“I think our powerplay batting has been costing us. We have to find a way through it, their bowling was very good but we are down on confidence and couldn’t get a good start.
“When you play against a very good side, you need to be up for it and sadly we weren’t.”
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