India at last prevailed in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur on Wednesday. They beat the hosts comfortably by 77 runs.
Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza blamed it on his batsmen, who could not play sensibly and kept on throwing their wickets away at regular intervals. On an ideal condition to bat, Bangladeshi batsmen should have been wiser in shot selection, the captain said.
"I will not name a particular batsman because everyone made mistakes. Most of the top and middle order made 25, 30 or 40. We needed a 60 or 80. Until the 35th over we were ahead of India, it was just the number of wickets in hand that was the difference.
"We would have had lesser problems while chasing if we had wickets in hand. The pitch was really good. After 35 overs when we lost six wickets, we were definitely on the back foot. So overall this was a big mistake from our side. Hopefully next time it will be much better," Mortaza told Espn Cricinfo.
Mustafizur Rahman, who became a menace for India in the first two matches, did not have much of an impact in the third and final ODI at Mirpur. The visitors seemed to have done their homework pretty well and calmly played Rahman off their backfoot. In spite of this, Rahman picked up a couple of wickets, but he proved to be expensive at the end of his spell. Yet he remained the only bowler to pick up 13 wickets in a three-match series.
Tamim Iqbal, Shakib al-Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim failed to fire in the final ODI against India. Although Iqbal and Shakib got runs in the first two ODIs, Rahim's form is a concern for Bangladesh ahead of their South Africa tour.
The skipper said that Rahim has been an incredible talent and is hopeful that he would bounce back strongly soon.
"I don't think there is any problem with Mushfiqur's mentality. If you always expect something from a player it will be difficult. Sometimes he is bound to do badly. I am concerned if he is a little over-focused. There is no chance for him to be less focused.
"He didn't keep wickets because of his finger. If it breaks and he is out for two or three months, it will be bad for us. He is an amazing batsman and he can have a bad patch. The way he sees the game as a part of his life, it is obvious that he will score big soon," Mortaza added.
