Our run rate was really low and that's why we couldn't win against Bangladesh, says Hashmatullah Shahidi

Match 4 of the ongoing Asia Cup featured a clash between Bangladesh and Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday, September 4. The clash resulted in a brilliant performance by Bangladesh, who registered their first win of the tournament.

Posting a total of 334 runs in the first innings, Bangladesh put forth a sensational performance when defending the target. Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam wreaked havoc on Afghanistan’s batting attack as Bangladesh won the game by 89 runs to move into second place in the group standings.

As for Afghanistan, this was the side’s first game in the competition, and they got off to the worst of starts. Seeing the side’s subpar showing, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi took center stage to give his take on the performance they put forth in match 4.

Shahidi opined that they need to improve in all areas and even pointed out the specifics of what went wrong. Furthermore, the skipper also opined that the venue was close to their home country, and the entire side hopes that the fans will show a similar kind of support in their second game of the tournament. 

"I thought the target could be chased. The outfield was quick, and the target could’ve been chased down, but we lost wickets. Their bowlers were good in the beginning, and our run rate was really low; that's why we couldn't win," Hashmatullah Shahidi was quoted as saying by IndiaToday.

"We need to improve in all the departments. Today, our bowling was not good enough, and neither was our fielding. Lahore is near our country, so the fans were waiting for this game. Hopefully, they will come and support us again in the next game," he added.

Speaking of the game, centuries by Mehidy Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto helped Bangladesh post the mammoth total on the board. As Afghanistan came in to chase the target, Ibrahim Zadran and Shahidi played resilient innings to bring themselves closer to a win. However, they were eventually bundled out for 245 runs as Bangladesh won the game by 89 runs.