'Looking for a good show against India'

Bangladesh began their T20 World Cup campaign with a loss to Australia. Opener Tanzid Tamim was dismissed for a duck. Despite a brief aggressive start, Liton Das batted sluggishly and was out for 26 off 25 balls. To counter the Australian spinners, Bangladesh sent Rishad Hossain to bat at number 4.

Why was Rishad sent to bat at number 4? After the match, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto explained this decision. At the post-match presentation, Shanto said, "The wicket was good, but a bit slow. Even then, we should have scored at least 170. Against such a strong team, we needed to take some risks. Today, Rishad was sent to bat at number 4 to face the spinners. He is a big-hitter but couldn't capitalize on the opportunity today."

Rishad has better statistics against spinners compared to pacers. Moreover, if Rishad had batted lower in the order, facing pacers like Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc would have been more challenging for him. Thus, he was promoted to attack the spinners, Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell. Unfortunately, the strategy did not work as planned.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, who had been struggling for runs, scored the highest for Bangladesh in this match, with 41 runs off 36 balls. Reflecting on his performance, Shanto said, "I feel alright so far, I am enjoying playing here and believe I can contribute more."

Shanto further added, "It is very important for our top order to score runs like today, it is a big boost. Hopefully, the bowlers will maintain their form. We are looking forward to performing well in the next match against India."