Sheikh Hasina the Bangladesh Prime Minister defends Shakib al-Hasan’s decision to bowl first against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in ICC World Cup 2011
Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister (PM) of Bangladesh, has defended Shakib al-Hasan’s decision to invite India to bat first in the opening match of the tournament. Bangladesh team went on to lose the match after the captain won the toss and decided to field
first.
The issue came under discussion when the PM was addressing the weekly cabinet meeting. She supported Shakib’s decision to ball first and said that the criticism was not justified and irrational.
'Who can say for sure we would have done well batting first?' she was reported as saying by a cabinet colleague.
Hasina said, 'They (Bangladesh cricket team) could have been bowled out for 170 to 180 runs. So, Shakib's decision in my view was right.”
The choice that the Bangladesh skipper made after the toss has received a lot of criticism from media persons and the sports fraternity. They believe he was wrong in his assessment of sending India in on a flat track. India made the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 bowlers pay
heavily in conditions ideally suited to batting and piled up a massive total of 370 runs. The Bangladesh team could only manage 283 runs in reply. The critics say that the host team gave away its home advantage by making the wrong decision.
Shakib had earlier defended his decision by saying that he had asked his opponents to bat first after carefully analysing the conditions. He had hoped to put Indian batting under pressure by getting some quick wickets upfront which unfortunately did not
happen. The Indian batsmen were never in any discomfort as the bowlers toiled hard without much success. The Indian innings included a career best 175 from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virender-Sehwag-c95429
The Tigers had defeated the Indians in the last ICC World Cup so this time around a lot was expected from them. The host side however failed to live up to the expectations.
Bangladesh did give a good account of themselves in their second match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 that will be played on the 4th
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 at Dhaka
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