PAK vs BAN: Did not lose concentration after Shakib’s dismissal, says Shanto

Replays showed that the ball had grazed Shakib’s bat before it hit the pad. Yet, third umpire Langton Rusere upheld the on-field call. Shakib, stunned, shook his head, waved his hands, and didn’t want to leave the pitch.

Bangladesh’s Captain Shakib Al Hasan (Second from right) talks to umpire Joel Wilson about his dismissal during the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

Bangladesh batter Najmul Hossain Shanto dead-batted Shakib Al Hasan’s controversial lbw decision by third umpire Langton Rusere, claiming that the team did not lose concentration after the captain’s dismissal.

Replays showed that the ball had grazed the bat before it hit the pad. Yet, the Zimbabwean third umpire upheld the on-field call. Shakib, stunned, shook his head, waved his hands, and didn’t want to leave the pitch.

Against Pakistan’s strong bowling line-up, Bangladesh clearly lost steam after Shakib’s dismissal. It lost wickets at regular intervals, but Shanto claimed otherwise. “There was a lot of confusion for everyone, but we were not focusing on that wicket. The idea was to play some good cricket later on,” Shanto, who top-scored with 54, said.

“We did not lose concentration, but yes, we felt that it was not out. The umpire’s decision is final, and we can’t do anything about it. But I admit that we could not play well after that in the middle-overs…”

After losing Litton Das early, Bangladesh rebuilt with a 52-run stand between Shanto and Soumya Sarkar and managed to reach 127 for eight before Pakistan chased down the total with 11 balls to spare. “This wicket would offer 140 or 150 runs. I wanted to finish, but I could not do that. So, I regret that a bit, but if our batters at the lower-order could have taken it forward a bit, we would have been in a better position…” he said.

“As a team, we failed to perform. We won the games as a team, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to play well. As a team we failed today. This was an opportunity for us, and we could not utilise it….”

Bangladesh won two of its league games against Zimbabwe and The Netherlands, but ended up losing to all the three strong teams - India, Pakistan and South Africa.