Mushtaq Ahmed tells Bangladesh batsmen to emulate Kusal Mendis

• Praises Sri Lanka’s aggression and positivity

Mushtaq Ahmed at media conference in Pallekele

Maheesh Theekshana

PALLEKELE: Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan spinner and now the spin bowling coach of the Bangladesh cricket team gave credit to Sri Lanka for the way they beat Bangladesh in the first ODI played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Sri Lanka restricted Bangladesh to a total of 154-5 and then knocked the runs with an over to spare to win by 7 wickets.

“They played very aggressive and very positive cricket,” said Mushtaq at the post-match media conference. “We started well but we couldn’t capitalise so we couldn’t finish the game.

“The batsmen tried their level best; they were trying to hit the ball but the (Sri Lanka) bowlers bowled brilliant yorkers and slow deliveries. That’s the reality. Sometimes they bowl well so you’ve got to acknowledge that. But we’ve got to improve quickly as much as we can. You have to believe and play smart cricket, that’s all you have to do. We should not be scared of losing but go out and play positive cricket.”

“Our guys have the ability to play very good cricket, it’s just that they have to believe in and back each other. Once you get a good score under your belt, convert the 30s and 40s into 70s and 80s and you will see the difference. One thing I can say is that on the field Bangladesh didn’t give up. They were fighting. If they keep doing that and keep believing and if we can bowl well upfront and bat well, you can challenge anyone.”

Mushtaq said he wanted one of his batters to bat like Kusal Mendis who has proved to be a thorn in the Bangladesh side. Having won the Player of the Series in the three-match ODI series, Mendis carried that form into the T20I series scoring a match winning 73 off 51 balls.

“When you are in form you don’t get out for 30s and 40s. As a set batsman you got to take the game long. What Mendis is doing, one of our batsmen has to do the same. That’s very important for Bangladesh batting. If you are in as a batsman in T20 cricket you got to cash, go big. 30s have to be converted into 70s and 80s. On that pitch I thought 170-180 was a par score. If we had that par score and we bowled well in the power play it could have been a different game.”

Maheesh Theekshana who was Sri Lanka’s leading bowler in the match with 2/37 said, “If you look at the match a lot of things went right for us. We got a good start, the bowlers bowled well and they adjusted to the wicket quickly. We thought it was a flat wicket but when we started bowling slow balls we saw the wicket was slow so we adjusted. We initially thought of keeping them below 180 but when we found the wicket was slow we knew around 160 was the score we will need to chase.”

After Sri Lanka had completed a near perfect game Theekshana said, “I don’t see anything big that we have to do but improve on what we have been doing.”

The second T20I will take place at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Tickets for 2nd T20I in Dambulla sold out

Tickets for the second T20I between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh scheduled to be played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Sunday have been sold out, states a Sri Lanka Cricket media release.

The ticket counter at RDICS, Dambulla, was officially closed at 3:30 p.m. yesterday and will no longer be in operation. The public are kindly advised not to visit the ticket counters to purchase tickets for the 2nd T20I, the release stated.