Shanto feels Bangladesh's bowling unit can defend any total if they take early wickets

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed his joy in advancing to the Super 8 of the T20 World Cup 2024 however he admitted that the batting had fallen short of expectations during the match against Nepal.

Bangladesh defeated Nepal by 21 runs at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent, defending the lowest score in the big event's history.

Concerns lingered about their batting, as Shanto, Litton Das, and Tanzid Hasan Tamim continued to struggle in the top order. Shanto stated that the Tigers are confident of defending low scores, but urged the hitters to step up with challenging matches ahead in the Super 8.

"Very happy the way we played this round. I hope we can continue our bowling performance, not our batting. Hope our batting performance will be fine in the next round. We are not scoring much but we know we can defend totals if we can pick up early wickets. That is what we told the bowlers and they are very good in the field also," Shanto said in a post-match presentation.

Tanzim Hasan Sakib was Bangladesh's outstanding bowler against Nepal, finishing 4-0-7-4 with 21 dot balls. Mustafizur Rahman bowled a wicket-maiden in the last over, derailing Nepal's pursuit.

Shanto hopes to continue the blistering bowling performance in the next stage too and shared that his team has the belief that they can defend the total if they pick early wickets. The Bangladesh captain added that they have good variety in their bowling unit.

"We have everything. All the fast bowlers have worked really hard in the last two or three years. In this format, the bowling unit is very important and I hope they continue their form. In T20Is, momentum is always important. We have to plan for the next round and execute our plans," he added.

Coming to the match, Bangladesh became the final team to make the T20 World Cup Super Eights. Nepal was bowled out for 85 and this is the lowest total ever defended by a team in Men's T20 World Cups. With Bangladesh sealing a place in the Super 8s, the Netherlands have been knocked out of the tournament.

Tanzim at the start and Mustafizur Rahman at the end were brilliant. Mustafizur bagged three wickets while Tanzim returned with the figure of 4-7.

Nepal's run chase of 107 runs was anything but smooth sailing in the early stages. A double-wicket maiden in the third over caused a spicy exchange involving bowler Tanzim Hasan Sakib, as the pressure gauge went up in St. Vincent.