Bangladesh lacked "game awareness" during their 99-run defeat against Zimbabwe, and their batters haven't been as consistent as their bowlers. This was the assessment of Taskin Ahmed after the first game of the UAE tri-series in Abu Dhabi.
Bangladesh reduced Zimbabwe to 24 for 3, but Zimbabwe recovered through a 150-run fourth-wicket stand between Craig Ervine and Brendan Taylor. Bangladesh however got another string of wickets, restricting Zimbabwe to 271 for 8 in 50 overs. The chase started well with Tanzid Hasan in attacking mode but as soon as he fell, the rest of the batters collapsed in a heap. They were eventually all out for 172 runs.
Taskin called the defeat a "reality check" too, adding that the batters must also take responsibility to turn things around for the team.
"There is a noticeable lack of game awareness," Taskin said. "Everyone possesses the necessary skills as those who follow cricket can attest. Each of our batters has proven they are capable of performing well. However, as a team, we sometimes tend to collapse very quickly when placed under pressure. This is something we really need to move past if we want to become a major team. I am certain that we are all working together to figure out how to resolve this quickly.
"This (defeat) has served as a reality check, highlighting the specific areas that need improvement. Cricket isn't an individual sport; personal successes don't really count for much if the team doesn't win. Since it's a team game, we must improve collectively. Both batters and bowlers share equal responsibility. It is not a one-sided affair. I'm confident that our batters are working hard, and I hope they will intelligently correct their mistakes and bounce back. There is still another match to play, and these issues need to be resolved quickly. I am sure they will be fixed soon.
"A target of 270 was definitely chaseable.. Unfortunately, we couldn't build a single partnership. Just one decent partnership would have seen us through. We keep making the same mistakes in our batting. Our bowling has shown a bit more consistency, but as for the batting, I believe our batters should have won this match for us. Unfortunately, they couldn't. That said, there's still one game left; we'll look to fight back strongly so that we can reach the final."
Taskin said that the batters' lack of consistency is being addressed, though he added that the sooner they can find the solutions, the better for the team.
"Our bowling is improving, and our batters have a history of playing strong innings; the issue is consistency. I personally believe we need to work on that consistency and our overall game awareness. I'm confident that everyone from the management to the players is putting in the effort.
'We just need to ensure we address these areas without taking too much time, as dragging the process out could end up hurting the team. The sooner we can address these shortcomings, the better it will be for our team and the country."
Taskin said that Bangladesh were without two key players - captain Litton Das and allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz - but didn't present it as an excuse. Instead, he said that the Zimbabwe side showed them exactly how to rebound after falling under pressure.
"We missed Miraz due to fever. He is one of our main ODI players. But the rest were quite capable. But we couldn't do it today. You saw how the Abu Dhabi pitch played so well on the fifth day of the Test even. It is supposed to be a good batting wicket, so we could have put on partnerships.
"Zimbabwe made it happen. They punished the bad balls, while handling the good balls really well. They showed how to get a decent score even though they were under pressure, particularly when playing on a good pitch.
"Zimbabwe's current side has been playing together for a long time. They are a compact unit with significant batting depth. They have plenty of allrounders and are undoubtedly playing good cricket. But we aren't a bad team either."