Need to know how to play better on flat wickets, says Towhid Hridoy

New Delhi, Oct 13
After their tour of India concluded with a 133-run defeat in the third and final T20I at Hyderabad, Bangladesh batter Towhid Hridoy emphasised the team’s requirement to develop their skills in playing on flat pitches in the shortest format.



It was a series where the gulf in skills and mindset between India and Bangladesh was very evident in the shortest format. At Hyderabad, Bangladesh were severely put under the pump by Indian batters as they posted 297/6 – their highest total in the format.

In reply, Bangladesh could only make 164/7, which was their best total in this series, but fell short by a staggering 133 runs. Hridoy was Bangladesh’s lone bright spot with the bat, making 63 not out off 42 balls.

"Most of our players can't read wickets. We play most of our matches in Mirpur (spin-friendly pitches) and sometimes in Chittagong. If we keep playing on good wickets, we won't change overnight, but we will slowly improve.

"I wouldn't say that our standard is too low. We were competing against a very strong side. They are T20 world champions. They are ahead of us in terms of skills, and they know their home conditions. I think we are a good side but we need to know how to play better on flat wickets," said Hridoy after the match.

He also felt Bangladesh will take a lot of learnings from the 3-0 series defeat in all aspects of the game to be a better T20I team. "A big score becomes easier to get with runs from the top order, at least till No. 4. I think we have to improve as a batting group. It has been happening for a long time now. We are hopeful that we can take lessons from this series.

"We have lacked in every department. We didn't bowl well or bat well in every game. We have a lot to improve. We don't play in these (batting-friendly) wickets. You have seen that too. This is not an excuse, but the more we play on these wickets, we will get more used to (them)."

Hridoy signed off by backing leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, who had a great T20 World Cup with 14 scalps, to come back stronger after picking just three wickets in the series against India.

"We absolutely need to back Rishad. Yes, he didn’t bowl well, but if you look at his performances in the World Cup and elsewhere, he has been exceptional. Indian wickets are the kind where even the best bowlers can get hit. T20 is a game of runs, and we all had a bad day."