Bengaluru, 22 March । Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza believes that small slip-ups against Australia were responsible for Bangladesh's defeat in their crucial World Twenty20 Super 10 match.
Bangladesh lost by three wickets with nine balls to spare here on Monday. It was their second straight defeat in the tournament and has virtually snuffed out their chances of a semi-final spot in the showcase event.
Asked to bat first, Bangladesh posted a respectable 156/5. The bowlers then staged a late fightback to cut down the margin of defeat.
"If we could take a couple of early wickets, the match might have turned out different. In batting, we lost wickets regularly at the start and in the middle, that prevented us from reaching 170," Mortaza was quoted as saying by bdnews24.com.
"This ground offers big scores. If we had been able to avoid the small mistakes the match could have been different."
Bangladesh were poor on the field, letting two straightforward catches go begging. A Shane Watson skier was dropped in the sixth over and John Hastings was given a reprieve in the 18th.
Mashrafe's captaincy, too, left a lot to be desired as the Australian batsmen easily saw through his bowling changes and field placements.
"Speaking about the small mistakes… there are a couple of places where the decision-making could have been better. I think if the batsmen and bowlers, including myself, had done a little better, the match might have gone our way," the skipper said.
But the 32-year-old was keen on going into the next match with confidence after giving Australia a run for their money.
"We still have two matches left and I think we have to be positive. Anything can happen. I think the boys can take some heart from the way they batted and bowled today.
"I think we have to carry those positives into the next match and try to minimise the mistakes."
Bangladesh will take on hosts India in their next match on Wednesday at the same venue before heading to Kolkata for their last match of Group 2 against New Zealand on March 26.
Agency