‘It was my fault that we lost the match’: Bangladesh skipper Shanto

He believes that his dismissal so early in the day brought about the team’s downfall in the first Test

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto has lamented his untimely dismissal in the second innings and believes it led to the defeat of the Tigers by Zimbabwe in the first Test later in the day.

In Sylhet, the Tigers produced a tame show with the bat, collapsing in key moments in both innings and proving to be vulnerable against short balls and late movement.

Shanto, however, was upfront about the shot he had played and the impact it had on the game, ESPNcricinfo reported on Thursday.

Transitions could be brutal on captains, especially when they lose to a lower-ranked, unfancied side.

“It was my fault that we lost the match, that's the truth,” Shanto was quoted as saying.

“My wicket early in the morning [off the second ball of the day] ruined the whole match for us. If we [Shanto and Jaker Ali] had added 50 or 60 more runs at that time, we would be in a better position.

“I don't want to blame anyone else. I am taking all the responsibilities since my dismissal came at a very bad time. I always think about taking scoring opportunities. Maybe I could have taken more time [before playing my shots],” he added.

“But I will play that shot [again], maybe the timing wasn't right [on this occasion].”

Shanto fell attempting to pull a short ball outside off-stump from Blessing Muzarabani and sending a leading edge to deep fine leg.

Bangladesh still had specialist batters at 194 for 5. While Jaker continued the fight, Shanto's deputy Mehidy Hasan Miraz was also troubled by Zimbabwe's short-ball plan as he fell as one of the three batters that Bangladesh lost in the first half-hour of the penultimate day.

Shanto said his team had been guilty of not showing enough application, especially against Muzarabani, who finished with career-best match figures of 9 for 122.

“Of course, he [Muzarabani] bowled well, and there is some added advantage due to his height. But still, the batting unit should have taken a bit more responsibility," Shanto was quoted as saying.

“We should have planned a bit better against him. He's their main bowler. It was necessary to handle his spells [better]. I think we did it for some time but that was not enough.”