‘I thought we could chase it down’
Bangladesh captain Nurul Hasan Sohan said that his side would reply strongly in the second T20I of the three-match series after losing the first game against Zimbabwe today.
"We have to improve for a few overs in the next matches. 10-15 runs less would be a positive game for us. I thought we could chase it down. It was a very good pitch. Hope we come back strongly in the second match," Sohan said after his side's 17-run defeat yesterday.
Despite signs of intent from skipper Sohan, Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Anamul Haque, Bangladesh were unable to chase down Zimbabwe's daunting total of 205 for three -- the highest T20I total for Zimbabwe in Harare and their second-highest total in T20Is overall.
In chase of the imposing target, Bangladesh were restricted to 188 for six.
Man-of-the-match Sikandar Raza, who put the Bangladesh bowling to the sword during an unbeaten 26-ball 65, expressed satisfaction.
"We thought 170-180 would be okay. We had a good start. I wanted to carry on and take it from there. Didn't think it was a 206 wicket. There were couple of instances where the ball stayed low. A bit two-paced. After those scary moments with a couple of surgeries, nothing bothers me now," said Raza.
Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine lauded his side's batting effort. "The guys in the middle batted exceptionally. We always want to hit the ground running and it's a quick turnaround. One of the areas [that we need to work on] today were the extras."
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