Hossain finds little consolation in half-century

Monday, 24 September 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Bangladesh’s Nasir Hossain took no pleasure from his side’s 59-run ICC World Twenty20 defeat against New Zealand despite impressing with the bat in Pallekele.

The right-hander hit 50 off 39 balls in Bangladesh’s forlorn pursuit of New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum-inspired 191-3.

The 20-year-old has burst onto the international scene over the last year and enhanced his reputation further with an innings that contained six fours and one six.

“When I got there (the half-century) it felt good for a short while but then the feeling went away and at the end of the match I was bitterly disappointed. If I contribute and the team wins only then I get pleasure out of my performance. Even if I get a duck and the team still wins then I am happy rather than when I perform in a losing cause.”

Hossain’s innings was overshadowed by McCullum’s 123, the highest score ever made in Twenty20 International cricket.

The young Bangladeshi conceded the batsman-wicketkeeper was too good for them on the day.

“We did not want to give him much room when he was batting but obviously we couldn’t execute the plan,” said Hossain. “When someone plays an innings like that there is little you can do. He found the gaps every time and not a shot went to the fielders. That was an exceptional knock and doesn’t happen always. He definitely made the difference.”

The next match in Group D takes place on Sunday when Pakistan enter the tournament against New Zealand. Victory for Pakistan would mean Bangladesh needing to beat the 2009 ICC World T20 champions and boost their run-rate in the process to reach the Super Eights. A win for New Zealand would make Bangladesh’s task a little less complicated as a victory by any margin against Pakistan would send them into the next phase.

“It will become a straight equation if New Zealand win but we are thinking of September 25. We have to beat Pakistan to have any hope of staying in the tournament. We had a poor match yesterday and we dropped our standards. Everyone is keen to give a good account of themselves against Pakistan,” concluded Hossain.