Hridoy says winning is more important than run rate

At the post-match press conference, Towhid Hridoy was asked whether Bangladesh could have wrapped up the game a little earlier. He admitted they had tried, but “circumstances” had prevented it. For him, what mattered most was the result.

Bangladesh captain Litton Das had expressed a similar view before their first Asia Cup match against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Yet in the context of the tournament, net run rate could prove decisive in Group B.

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan are vying for two Super Four spots from the group, and all will be looking to boost their run rates. Afghanistan managed that in their opening match, but Bangladesh could not. After their first win, Afghanistan sit at the top with a net run rate of 4.700, while Bangladesh are second with 1.001.

This is nothing new for Bangladesh. Against so-called smaller teams, their first priority has usually been to secure the win. Other teams, by contrast, often manage to pair victory with a healthy run rate.

Hridoy, speaking after the Hong Kong game, stressed: “At the end of the day, the result is important. If we hadn’t won, you would have probably said something. Yes, we could have finished the game a little earlier, but we tried to play according to what the situation demanded.”

Why then does Bangladesh often adopt this cautious mindset against lower-ranked opponents? Hridoy explained: “As players, all of us go to the field with a winning mentality. At the end of the day, what’s important is that the result went in our favour.”

Batting first, Hong Kong had set Bangladesh a target of 144. Bangladesh reached it with 14 balls and seven wickets to spare.

Asked whether they had kept run rate in mind during the chase, Hridoy said: “It was in mind. But more importantly, we had to make sure the match didn’t slip away. Our plan was to finish quickly. In terms of execution, maybe we could have done it a bit earlier—maybe two or three overs earlier.”