Following his side's seven-wicket loss to Afghanistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, Bangladesh batter Mosaddek Hossain said that his side fell 10-15 runs short and the story could have been different had they scored over 140 runs.
A late blitz from left-hander Najibullah Zadran helped Afghanistan secure direct qualification to the Super Four phase of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 as he hit a flurry of sixes to help his team defeat Bangladesh by seven wickets in a Group B tie on Tuesday.
"We were 10-15 runs short. Had we scored 140 plus then maybe the story could have been different," said Mosaddek in a press conference after the match.
Mosaddek said that the wicket was a bit low in the first 10 overs and it caused difficulty in playing spinners, but facing pacers was better and the ball was coming nicely on the bat.
Mosaddek said that his side's next match against Sri Lanka will be a "do or die" one.
"As a team, we have played well, just the batting fell short. Other than that, everything is going fine for us," he added.
Coming to the match, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first.
Top-class bowling spells by pacer Mujeeb ur Rahman and spinner Rashid Khan helped Afghanistan restrict Bangladesh to 127/7 despite a fighting knock by Mosaddek Hossain (48*).
Afghan bowlers restricted Bangladesh to 53/5 with some superb bowling. Fighting knocks from Mosaddek Hossain (48*) Mahmudullah (25) helped Bangladesh attain a respectable score.
Rashid Khan (3/22) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/16) proved difficult for Bangladesh.
Chasing 128, Afghanistan did not have a good start and was struggling at 65/3 with the final six overs to go. Then, the duo of Ibrahim Zadran (42*) and Najibullah Zadran (43*) let loose their arms and chased the target with nine balls to go. The duo had an unbeaten stand of 69 runs.
Mosaddek Hossain (1/12) was the leading bowler for Bangladesh. Shakib and Saifuddin took one wicket each.
Mujeeb ur Rahman received the 'Man of the Match' award for his match-winning spell.
( With inputs from ANI )
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