‘No question of giving up, we’re here to be champions’

Bangladesh batter Jaker Ali Anik's words carried defiance even after Bangladesh's heavy defeat to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup on Saturday. The Tigers were thrashed by six wickets at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, leaving their path to the Super Four hanging by a thread.

Sent in to bat, Bangladesh collapsed to 53 for 5 inside 10 overs after losing two wickets without scoring in the first two. A late partnership between Jaker (41 not out) and Shamim Hossain (39 not out) added 86 runs off 61 balls, but their 139 for 5 never looked enough.

Sri Lanka, starting their campaign in confident fashion, chased down the target with 32 balls to spare.

The result means Bangladesh, who started the campaign with a comfortable win against Hong Kong, must beat Afghanistan in their final group game and also depend on the outcome of the Sri Lanka–Afghanistan clash to progress.

Still, Jaker refused to concede hope.

"There's no question of losing hope. We will play to win. The same mentality will be there. We didn't come to this tournament just to play matches, we came to become champions. Losing one game doesn't mean losing hope," he told the media after the match.

He admitted the Powerplay collapse left them with little chance.

"If you lose too many wickets in the Powerplay, it becomes difficult to make a big score. Shamim and I tried to take whatever we could. If we had wickets in hand, we could have taken more risks."

Jaker also pointed to the conditions as a factor.

"Since it was hot, the wind was a factor. On this ground, you can't hit on both sides. They bowled well. As a batting unit, we didn't do well."

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, look well set after opening their campaign with a commanding victory.