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Following the loss to India in the first T20I, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto tore into his batting line-up, saying that due to their home conditions, they do not know how to score 180 runs in a T20I match.
The new-look India boosted by debuts of tearaway pacer Mayank Yadav and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy secured a dominant seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first of the three T20Is at Gwalior on Sunday, with Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Hardik Pandya delivering best performances. After the game in the post-match press conference, Shanto said that his team is better than what the recent performances suggest and it is not about the failure of any individual player. "I would not say we played badly. We are a better team than this. We have not done well in this format for a long time, but I do not believe we are such a bad team," said Shanto. "I do not want to talk about any individual player. I think the batting unit did not do well today. There will be aggression in the way we approach our scoring, but sometimes we have to select the balls correctly. We will think about it, but we cannot rush in changing our approach," he added. The Bangladesh skipper said that the batters are so used to conditions allowing 140-150 runs at home that they cannot score 180 or more in their matches. He also said that the team has the ability to score more and there needs to be improvement in skills. "We have the ability, but we have room for improvement in our skills. We have been batting in this way for the last ten years. Sometimes we do well. We have to make some changes, perhaps where we practice back home. We play on 140-150 wickets at home. Our batters do not know how to score 180 runs. I would not blame just the wickets, but we have to consider skills and mentality," he said. In fact, Bangladesh has scored 180 runs or more in a T20I match only four times in the past two years out of 45 matches they have played, with scores coming twice each against Ireland and Sri Lanka. Three of these scores have come in home conditions. Out of these four games, Bangladesh have only won two, both against Ireland. Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bowl first. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (27 runs from 25 balls, 1 four and 1 six) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (35* runs from 32 balls, 3 fours) were the top scorers for the visitors, injecting a small bit of life in an otherwise struggling innings. Bangladesh was bundled out for 127 runs in 19.5 overs. Arshdeep (3/14) was the pick of the bowlers for India. Varun Chakravarthy bagged three wickets for 31 runs on his return to the side after 2021. Pace sensation Mayank Yadav, Washington Sundar and Hardik got a scalp each. During the chase of 128 runs, Abhishek Sharma (16 in seven balls) was run out due to a miscommunication. However, Sanju Samson (29 in 19 balls with six fours) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (29 in 14 balls, with two fours and three sixes) stitched a 40-wicket stand for the second wicket. Then, it was Hardik who sealed the win for India, putting up a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket with debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (16* in 15 balls, with a six). Bangladesh failed to rise with the ball in the second inning and could only pick up two wickets. Mustafizur Rahman and Mehidy were the only wicket-takers for the visitors. Arshdeep was named the 'Player of the Match' for his fine spell which also included the key wicket of Litton Das. India is up 1-0 in the three-match series. (ANI)
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