Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan had no reservation to admit that reckless batting show led their downfall in their Asia Cup Super Four opening game against Pakistan at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, wednesday (6 september).
At the same time, he heaped praise on Pakistan pace attack, which bowled with superb pace and maintained tight line and length in a pitch that was helpful for the batters.
"We lost at the start, they bowled really well and we played some ordinary shots. On a wicket like this, we shouldn't have lost four wickets in 10 overs," Shakib said at the post match presentation.
"We had a very good partnership, we should have got going for 7-8 overs.
After I got out, there were no more partnerships. It's a very poor batting display on a surface like this."
Despite the early dismissal of the centurion of previous match Mehidy Hasan Miraz who chipped one straight to mid-wicket, Bangladesh looked to be in right direction with Liton Das playing some classical shots.
He and Naim Sheikh appeared to build a partnership before Haris Rauf who was wrecker-in-chief with 4-19, undid Liton with an extra bounce.
Rauf, ably supported by Nasim Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, sliced Bangladesh top order to leave them at tittering 47-4 in 9.1 overs.
Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim added 100-run for the fourth wicket to save Bangladesh from further blushes. Shakib made 53 while Mushfiqur scored team-high 64. But both of the senior batters played one shot too many to cause their downfall as Bangladesh were bowled out for paltry 193 in 38.4 overs.
Pakistan overhauled the target in 39.3 overs with Imam-ul-Haq leading the charge with 78 runs. Mohammad Rizwan was not out on 63.
"They (Pakistan) are the number one team, they've got three world-class frontline bowlers. If they can do that, it gets easier for their batsmen," Shakib remarked.
Having said that, Shakib also praised his bowlers who gave Pakistan batters some torrid time despite a limited resource on the board.
"We have been doing well in our bowling department. Batting at this moment is little bit hot and cold. We need to be consistent and that's what we'll try to do. Our three seamers bowled brilliantly. They have been bowling well for the last couple of years," he said.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't get the wickets. It wasn't a pitch where you can get wickets unless batsmen make a mistake. When I played the LPL, the pitches were slow. If that happens, it suits us better. Hopefully we do well in Colombo."
Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka on Saturday for their second match in the Super Four and Shakib hoped to hit back with a win. Bangladesh though lost their group phase match to Sri Lanka by five wickets.
"We have to take it on our chin and move to the next one as we have another game in a couple of days," Shakib said.
