Bangladesh were 20 runs short in Asia Cup final: Mashrafe Mortaza

Dhaka, 7 March । Bangladesh cricket captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza said the Asia Cup final may have had a different outcome if they had scored 20 runs more.

Asked to bat first in the rain-hit Twenty20 match, that was reduced to 15 overs a side, the hosts posted a fighting 120 for 5 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday.

In their chase, India went over the line with seven balls to spare losing just two wickets.

Defending the total, Bangladesh started off well by sending back opener Rohit Sharma for just one run. But Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli played to their strengths to seal India's sixth Asia Cup trophy, their first in the Twenty20 format of the tournament.

"I thought 135 or 140 was a good score to defend here," Mashrafe was quoted as saying by a website on Monday.

"If we could score 20 runs more or take one or two more early wickets, the match could have been different."

Mashrafe believes the toss played an important part in deciding the outcome of the match.

"The wicket was pretty good to bat on in the second innings. Obviously, losing the toss was one of the keys."

Agency