Shakib Al Hasan was a dejected captain as Bangladesh suffered a crushing 87-run defeat at the hands of Netherlands in Match 28 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday (October 28).
Chasing 230 to win, Bangladesh’s innings folded for a paltry 142 in 42.2 overs. It was a listless batting display as no one managed to hit a half-century. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the top scorer with 35.
It was Bangladesh's fifth loss from six matches in the ongoing World Cup and their semi-final hopes are essentially dashed.
"We have been poor with the bat all tournament and this is as bad as it gets. There is more cricket to come and we have to pick ourselves up and I know it's hard but we have to try to finish the tournament on a high," said Shakib at the post-match presentation.
"Throughout the tournament, we have been struggling, I don't know what's on the players' minds," he added.
The seasoned all-rounder also expressed disappointment over his team’s fielding performance, terming his players as "sloppy."
"I thought we bowled really well but we were sloppy in the field. We should have restricted them to 160-170 from the position we were in."
Shakib's Dutch counterpart Scott Edwards lauded his bowlers for their superb effort. Right-arm pacer Paul van Meekeren starred with the ball for Netherlands, claiming four wickets by conceding 23 runs in his 7.2 overs.
"I was sort of speaking to a couple of guys and we thought that if we could get somewhere around 220-plus, we would have a chance. They (bowlers) have all been brilliant."
It was Netherlands' second victory in this World Cup. Earlier, they had defeated South Africa to earn a couple of points.
Talking about his team’s strong performance, Edwards said the "system" to play the game in the country was improving.
"Probably a bit of everything. The system has been getting better in Netherlands. We have had a good 18 months. We feel like we are putting the work in and we are getting some of those rewards. We spoke at the start of the tournament about giving us a chance at the semis and that looks tricky but that'll remain our goal."
Paul van Meekeren, who earned the Player-of-the-Match award, said his team has the determination to go all the way to the semi-final.
"Pretty special. We said we wanted to go for the semis, you need to win games. Very happy with how we bounced back after Australia (loss). We were pretty confident (today). At the halfway mark of our innings we thought 230-240 (would be a challenging total] and we got there. Aryan Dutt and Logan van Beek kept it very tight in the first 10 overs," said van Meekeren.
(With PTI Inputs)
