Shanto rues Mirpur Test defeat, says Bangladesh fell well behind in the first innings

Bangladesh suffered a bitter defeat against the West Indies in the first Test of the series in Mirpur, following a batting collapse and ineffective bowling. Despite being in a promising position in the first innings, the hosts eventually slumped to a heavy eight-wicket defeat as their batters failed to build on the start and the bowlers could not maintain pressure on the visiting batters.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto believes the turning point of the match was not the batting collapse in the second innings, but rather the failure to post a bigger total in the first innings despite batting on a relatively favourable surface. Reflecting on how Bangladesh failed to capitalise on a good start and secure a substantial lead, Shanto said,

“I think we fell behind in the first innings with the bat in this match. Considering how the pitch was in the first innings and the way we finished the day, we had fallen quite far behind in the game. We knew batting would become difficult later on. If we could have scored a few more runs at that stage, we could have built a bigger lead, and the game might have been different.”

The home captain did not put the blame solely on the batters’ lack of responsibility, as he also questioned his team’s bowling performance. Assessing Bangladesh’s efforts in the fourth innings, Shanto admitted that the bowlers could have done much better despite having only 170 runs to defend.

“I think we did not bowl well in the fourth innings. We did not bowl well in our second innings. A total of 170 runs is certainly a small target. But I think we could still have bowled a little better.”

Taking responsibility for the defeat as captain, Shanto also urged his teammates to reflect on their individual performances. Acknowledging the failure to convert promising starts into substantial scores in the first innings despite having considerable experience in international cricket, he expressed determination to address those mistakes and come back stronger in the next Test.

He also acknowledged that some umpiring decisions, particularly those involving the umpire’s call, went against Bangladesh while they were defending a modest total. However, Shanto admitted that the primary reason behind the defeat was the team’s failure to perform to its full potential on the field.