Mushfiqur run-out was costly- Mashrafee
Photo - Cricfrenzy
|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza blamed Mushfiqur Rahim for being run out during batting as he believes that could have been the turning point against New Zealand at Oval on Wednesday.
Bangladesh fought like a wounded Tigers against an inform New Zealand side before going down to two-wicket in a nail-biting World Cup game at The Oval on Wednesday.
Mashrafe’s side paid heavily for missing to inflict a run-out on Kane Williamson who forged a match-defining partnership with Ross Taylor for the second wicket to eventually script his side’s second straight victory. It was Bangladesh’s first loss after their 21-run victory over South Africa.
However, Mashrafe said that falling 30 runs short of their desired total was a bigger problem on the day adding that Mushfiqur himself getting run out after a mix-up with Shakib, after they had added exactly 50 runs for the third wicket, was also a crucial point in the game.
"That run out [of Mushfiqur while batting] was the turning point. They both got set in that moment. Again, Shakib and Mithun had their partnership broken when they were putting it together. If any of those two partnerships had gone into eighties or a hundred, things would have been different," said Mashrafee
"If you don't score big, you have to take all those chances. It happens in cricket. No one wants to make mistakes. I think the bigger mistakes was when we batted. If we managed to score 30 more runs, it could have been a different game.
Searching for early help in an overcast condition, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson opted to bowl first but Bangladesh made a steady start, defying Henry and Boult who were express, extracted bounce and swung the ball admirably.
Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar dealt with the bounce and swing of Henry and Boult astutely to keep Bangladesh on track before a loose shot from Soumya against Henry ended the 45-run partnership after the opener made a run-a-ball-25. As the pitch looked easier after 10 overs, the Kiwi fast bowlers employed a strategy of unsettling Bangladesh batsmen with a barrage of short balls and it worked tremendously well. Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson undid Tamim Iqbal with a 95-mile short-pitched delivery after he scored 38 ball-24.Thereafter Bangladeshi batsmen looked clueless, out-of-sort and jaded.
Shakib though seemed to come from different planet. He struggled initially but three successive four off Jimmy Nisham set him nicely in the crease as he seemed to have found the impetus that he was looking for.
A mix-up between him and Mushfiqur Rahim brought a run-out dismissal of the latter for 19 off 35, leaving Bangladesh in a state of danger and from then onward Bangladesh hardly recovered
