”Could be aggressive if we had 260 plus to defend”

Sports Live: Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed expressed his frustration at not getting enough total on the board to defend as his side conceded an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the opening game of the three-match ODI series at the University of Otago in Dunedin.

The Tigers were shot out for 131 in 41.5 overs, which New Zealand overhauled with 132-2 in 21.2 overs to achieve an effortless victory in a pitch that had no demons. According to Taskin the story could have been different, if the batsmen could amass 260 plus runs on the board.

“It could have been all together a different story had we amassed 260-270 runs on the board,” Taskin said in a recorded video message sent by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) today.

“But we couldn’t bat well. We could score just 131 and this score is never a good score to fight against a quality opponent. If we had 260-270 runs to defend we, the bowlers, could have been aggressive.”

With limited resources on the board, Taskin bowled with his heart out as he pushed the Kiwi batsmen with his pace and bounce. He ended up with 1-23 in four overs.

The latest defeat stretched Bangladesh’s defeat streak to 27 (14 ODIs, 9 Tests, 4 T20Is) on New Zealand soil across the format. Ahead of the match, Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo and captain Tamim Iqbal vowed to change the trend and termed pacers as their trump card.

“Our bowlers were well prepared. During the quarantine period here, we were aware of our fitness and took the necessary preparation to do well in New Zealand condition,” Taskin remarked.

Dhaka, 20 March (campuslive24.com)//Mi

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