Handed a rude shock in their opening game of the T20 World Cup qualifiers, Bangladesh will have to sort out batting issues and play to their reputation in a must-win game against an upbeat Oman here on Tuesday.
Bangladesh came into the tournament as the sixth-ranked team that had beaten Australia and New Zealand at home. But they were found wanting against a spirited Scotland on Sunday and lost the game by six runs.
Captain Mahmudullah blamed the batters for the unexpected loss and said they must fare better against Oman, who thrashed Papua New Guinea in their opener. To keep themselves in contention for a spot in the Super-12 stage of the competition, Bangladesh have to win Tuesday’s game.
“As a batting unit, we have disappointed ourselves. So it’s a big concern, and we need to see where we have made those mistakes,” said Mahmudullah.
With pitches expected to remain on the slower side, stroke-making will not be easy and the batters will have to find a way to get the boundaries with quick ones and twos. More will be expected from openers Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar, who both failed versus Scotland.
Star all-rounder Shakib-al Hasan was also far from his best with the bat.