'I don't have any explanation for this' - Shakib Al Hasan on Bangladesh's dismal batting failure against West Indies

Bangladesh Test skipper Shakib Al Hasan was annoyed after his team’s batting line-up crumbled for just 103 runs on the opening day of the ongoing first Test match against West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, and said that the players need to take more responsibility in the game as it advances further.

Shakib scored almost half of the team’s score with his 67-ball 51 runs before being dismissed by Alzarri Joseph. Tamim Iqbal scored 29 runs, whereas Litton Das scored 12 runs. Six batters were dismissed for ducks and two others were taken down for a score below five runs as the team faced a terrible collapse.

The skipper was anguished with his team’s performance and had no words to explain the situation. He believes that the batters need to gear up and work it out on their own as he said that his teammates will do better in the next innings to put up a tougher competition.

“I don’t have any explanation for this, this is beyond explanation. Others may have an explanation, but I don’t. Here, the work of coaches and the captain is easy. Suppose someone doesn’t perform, I leave him out. Here, the batters have to take responsibility. They have to do their own work. No one can feed them with a spoon. They failed but hopefully will make a comeback in the second innings. That’s the challenge,” Shakib was quoted as saying by India Today.

I think the pace unit bowled really well: Shakib Al Hasan

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh skipper praised Mustafizur Rahman, Khaled Ahmed, and Ebadot Hossain for their efforts. The trio was able to provide a good start to their side as they managed to restrict the West Indies‘ opening duo of Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell, and eventually dismissed the latter and top-order batter Raymon Reifer.

“I think the pace unit bowled really well, and they bowled in partnerships. Mustafizur was excellent, Khaled bowled well and Ebadot is always bowling well. Perhaps they were unlucky. If we could get a couple of wickets, we would have been in a better position. If we could get four wickets under 100 runs, then we could have bowled them out for another 100 runs, but I am not saying this will not happen now,” he added.

At the end of the first day, Windies managed to score 95 runs at the loss of two wickets, and are currently trailing by eight runs. They will look to gain a massive lead in the game in order to dismantle Bangladesh’s unit before the scheduled time.