During all this, Bangladesh players stood by as if they had no control at all over what was happening in the middle. This did not affect Kohli’s concentration but Bangladesh did not even try to slow down the game. Not even weird sub-plays like blocking the bowler’s moves. Perhaps even a cheeky wide as Kohli neared his milestone would have shown that he was still capable of influencing this match, rather than what actually happened, where it looked like he was just getting the test over. Were waiting for.
“We had our best start, adding 93 runs for the opening stand. But we could not bat well in the middle overs. It is our responsibility to bat well. I bat at No. 3, which is an important position. We have Had some out easily. It was a good wicket but the batsmen did not take responsibility. We have scored big earlier also. If Liton and Tanzeed had batted for a longer period, it would have helped Musashi (Mushfiqur Rarim). Brother Ya (Mahmudullah) Riyadh Brother In the later innings.”
Shanto has scored two of Bangladesh’s four ODI centuries this year, and since he and Mehdi Hasan Miraz scored centuries against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, he has been without a three-figure score in nine innings.
“No one is satisfied with scoring 50, 70 or 100 runs, not the players or the coaching staff, unless it helps the team,” Shanto said. “Every batsman is talking about it. Tanzid and Liton are not satisfied with their innings. Big players convert these starts into 100 or 150. We are all worried, and we are working on it.”
Bangladesh have immense faith in Tanjeed and have backed him despite a string of low scores since his debut last month. Shanto is proud that the team has been able to get the best out of one of its young players and is hopeful that he will grow from here. “Tanzeed played really well, but we expect better innings from him. I hope he improves in the next matches. Every player should be supported like (Tanzeed). Not half-heartedly, but 100%. Tanzeed batted well, but we need more from him. If we support him, he can play more such innings.”
Given that Bangladesh needs big scores from their batsmen, it seems strange that they are not letting some of them occupy their favorite positions. Shanto has been sent in at No. 4 twice in this World Cup, but he usually bats at No. 3. Tauheed Hridoy has been pushed to No. 7, although most of his success has come while batting at No. 5. They had an opportunity to utilize Mushfiqur’s experience at No. 4 in Shakib’s absence against India, but they decided not to do so.
Shato defended the team’s strategy. “Everyone knows their batting position very well, so they are quite comfortable with it. If they know the plan beforehand, there is no difference. Hridayoy likes to bat at No. 5. Musashi Brother Riyad is scoring runs at number 6 Brother Shakib is batting well at number 7 Brother Batted at number 4. I think it was the right batting order.”
There are still five matches left and Bangladesh is in the race for the semi-finals. He has pulled things out of a tough situation in the past too, but only after offloading a lot of the burden. In a World Cup campaign, the pressure to perform well increases every day.
Perhaps Shanto’s frank speaking and frank press conference at the end of the Pune defeat was a bright spot. It was a breath of fresh air to see him ready to accept the responsibility. “We will definitely want to win the next match, every match. We have not played our best yet, especially in our batting. We need to be more responsible. There is a lot left to do in this tournament. It is important to play well The game. It could change our momentum. Nobody knows, we could win the next four or five games.”
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84