Cricket | This might be start of a new chapter: Shakib

Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh skipper, hailed Dinesh Karthik's innings but also lauded the effort of his team after they lost the final of Nidahas Trophy to India off the last ball of the match in Colombo. He believes the heart-breaking experience will leave his team in good stead for the future.

Following the dismissal of Rohit Sharma, Bangladesh had managed to claw back in to the contest, after being behind in the game for most parts. They reached their peak period of dominance following the 18th over by Mustafizur Rahim, who conceded only a solitary run - a leg bye - and also also accounted for the wicket of Manish Pandey. With 34 runs needed off the last two overs and an out-of-touch Vijay Shankar at the crease, Bangladesh were on top.

However, the arrival of Dinesh Karthik changed the complexion of the game altogether and India managed to clinch the match, courtesy his unbeaten 29 off eight balls. Despite mounting pressure, the wicketkeeper-batsman produced a fine knock. His innings began with two sixes and a four off Rubel Hossain's 19th over, in which he picked up 22 runs and ended with a six off Mustafizur off the last ball of the tournament.

"You learn more things when you lose a game," Shakib told reporters after the game. "We could have rectified so many small things which could have gone our away and we could have won easily.

"These things happen in cricket, which is why T20 is so exciting. India were almost out of the game [before Karthik started hitting]. I think we did well for 38 overs except for the Miraz over at the start and the second last over when Rubel went for 22 runs.

"Credit goes to Dinesh Karthik for the way he batted. It is not an easy thing to do to hit a low full-toss like that. Five of the eight balls he faced went for boundaries. I think he hit three sixes. It was amazing hitting. We were so close, but India were on the winning side in the end. But you can't take anything away from us, with the way we played in this tournament, and today. We showed some good character and played in the right spirit. I can't ask for more from my team."

With Mehidy Hasan or the other offspinners - Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman - not bowling after the former was smashed for 17 runs off his first over, the onus fell on Soumya Sarkar to fill in the remaining three overs with his medium pace. Even as he conceded 20 runs off his first two overs, it was well below the required rate for India at that point. But at the same time, he had to use up Mustafizur Rahman earlier in order to keep the pressure on India from the other end and not let them loose against the spinners. The all-rounder admitted that bringing Rubel Hossain in the 19th over was a gamble which eventually didn't pay off.

"When Mustafizur bowled that brilliant over, India needed 34 off the last two overs. Rubel was our best bowler today after the way he bowled the first three overs. I believed in him. I thought even if he bowled badly, he would go for 15 runs. I would have 20 runs to play with in the last two overs, which would have given Soumya some cushion. It was the plan behind bringing Rubel in the 19th over.

"He (Rubel) didn't miss by much. I don't know many batsmen who can hit a six off the first ball, and then keep hitting the boundaries. There are very few instances in history. There was something otherworldly about it. He got nervous after going for 10 runs off the first two balls. I still feel that I will back him the next time such a situation comes," he said.

Shakib added that instead of grumbling for not being able to break the jinx of losing in the final they should take the positives and work accordingly as he believes their performance indicates that they are moving in the right direction.

"What's the point of crying now? You can be emotional," he said. "There's nothing much we can do in this situation. I hope we learn from these narrow defeats, and this has been our narrowest loss in a final. I think we are progressing.

"It was a tough period for us when we lost three quick wickets. If we played better, we may have scored more runs. I think overall we were 10-15 runs short but if someone asked me at the start of the game what was my ideal score in a final, I would have said 170. So I think we made 4-5 runs short. We came back very well with the ball, which shows our character with the ball. I don't see a lot of negatives, except that we lost the game.

He didn't entirely put it on Bangladesh's inability to handle the pressure situation but said that the momentum was with the bowling team going into the final two overs.

"I don't know if it is nerve or luck. Nine runs in one over isn't a lot but then you end up defending five runs off the last ball. You'd back a bowling team when they are defending 35 off the last two overs. It just didn't happen for us. The bowlers tried their best," he said.

Despite the defeat, he believes the experience will hold the side in good stead going ahead. "We had a good tournament. We could have won two more matches. We have to mind those small issues. This might be the start of a new chapter for Bangladesh.

"There are many positives. We are scoring consistently. Some of our bowlers did really well. We fielded really well too. We needed that extra edge, and hopefully we will get better."

(CRICBUZZ)