Bangladesh’s stand-in captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, has refuted any suggestions that spinner Nasum Ahmed deliberately bowled a wide ball to prevent Virat Kohli from reaching a century during India’s World Cup clash. In the match, Virat Kohli was batting on 97 with nine overs remaining, and India needed just two runs to reach the target of 257. However, Ahmed delivered a ball down the leg side, which was not called a wide by the on-field umpire Richard Kettleborough.
A couple of deliveries later, in the 42nd over, Kohli hit a six over deep midwicket, reaching 103 not out and sealing India’s comfortable victory.
Shanto defended Ahmed and emphasized that there was no intention to bowl a wide ball. He stated, “No, no. There was no such plan. It was a normal plan. No bowler had the intention to bowl a wide ball. We tried to play a proper game. It was not intentional.”
Shanto expressed his disappointment that two of their batsmen, Tanzid Hasan (53) and Litton Das (66), couldn’t convert their fifties into bigger scores. He emphasized the importance of taking responsibility and mentioned that the middle-order also did not perform well.
Shanto, who led the team in the absence of regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan due to a quad injury, defended their preparations against the strong Indian team and commended the performance of the top order.
Regarding Shakib’s availability, Shanto mentioned that he is recovering and in good condition. While there’s no official update, they hope to have him back in the side soon, although they don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.
Tanzid, who was Bangladesh’s top performer in the match with his maiden ODI fifty, expressed his satisfaction with his performance but acknowledged that it didn’t contribute significantly to the team’s success. He also recognized the need to work on his shortcomings.