Bangladesh signed off their memorable home series against the visiting West Indies with an 18-run defeat in the lone T20 International at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur last night. The Tigers might have lost their last match but undoubtedly the fans got their money's worth after the way Mushfiqur Rahim's men fought against the world champions in the shortest format of the game.
There was no shortage of entertainment and excitement in the match for the capacity crowd, who braved the chilly weather to encourage their beloved team, as the home team continued their impressive form even in defeat. Dashing opener Tamim Iqbal, who entertained the crowd the most after Marlon Samuels's explosive knock, believed that his side and their fans should in no way be disappointed with the outcome of the last match of the series, in which the Caribbean side were the favourites but the Tigers also showed their character.
"I think we did our best in the match and Bangladesh played their best match. I believe that we can in no way be disappointed with the result and even the fans should not be disappointed with the result," said the Chittagonian, who spoke highly of Bangladesh's overall performance in the series during the post-match press conference.
Pacer Rubel Hossain conceded 29 runs in the last over as Samuels mesmerised with four sixes and one boundary to reprise the heroics of his match-winning knock in the final of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. The common feeling was that this fateful over ultimately made the difference as Bangladesh fell 18 runs short of the formidable target of 198. But Tamim was not ready to single out any player for the defeat, pointing out that as a team they conceded 10 to 15 runs more.
"It would not be wise to identify Rubel as the reason for the defeat because as we all know the world's best bowlers also meet this fate. Instead I think that we gave 10-15 runs more as a team. Just think of the matter in another way -- what would have happened if Rubel didn't provide the two early breakthroughs. I think we should give Rubel confidence because he is still young and an asset for our team," explained Tamim, who was also not disappointed for missing the hundred as the team comes first for him.
The opener, who was unbeaten on a 61-ball 88, was also not ready to blame his skipper and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim who wasted three chances behind the stumps, including two against Samuels, who made the difference by scoring a sensible yet explosive unbeaten 85 that came from 43 deliveries with the help of three fours and nine huge sixes.
Bangladesh played their last series of the year and Tamim said that it was the best year he has seen in his six years with the Bangladesh side.
"Without any doubt this was the best year because we probably won 5 to 6 matches out of nine and just consider our success in the Asia Cup and in the last series. I firmly believe that it's [the West Indies tour] one of the best series we have played," observed Tamim.
"Shakib Al Hasan's absence was a big blow in the one-day series and I also failed to perform in the ODIs but still we won the series against a team, which in my opinion is the most dangerous side in world cricket now. I think we played as a unit and the self-belief was the key behind the success," he added.
Despite the impressive performance, the left-hander felt that there were still a lot of areas where they should improve to become a good team in world cricket.
Chris Gayle was the name before the series who scared the Tigers and the fans most but the left-hander completely flopped in the series against Bangladesh. Tamim had an interesting reply to end the press conference when asked about Gayle's failure. "What I learnt from watching Gayle in the series was that pressure can make an honest man of anyone."
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