Bangladesh batter Mahmudullah opened up about their defeat against India during the 2016 T20 World Cup. The veteran player described the final moments as heartbreaking and added that the team failed to understand how they lost the game from a winning position.
The group stage encounter was a must-win game for India after they lost their opening match to New Zealand. Batting first, the Men in Blue managed to post a total of 146/7 in their 20 overs. Suresh Raina was the top scorer for the host team with a steady knock of 30 runs.
During the run chase, Bangladesh consistently kept up with the required run rate of 7.5 runs per over. However, Indian fast bowlers Ashish Nehra and Hardik Pandya bowled tight lines during the death overs. The pressure got to the batters as they failed to cross the finishing line.
Experienced players like Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah attempted to hit glory shots. Rahim even started celebrating prematurely after hitting consecutive boundaries off Pandya. India won the thriller and reached the tournament semifinals but lost to the West Indies in Mumbai.
“Me, Mushfiqur Rahim, We All Cried” - Mahmudullah
Mahmudullah revealed that the dressing room environment was devastated after the match ended. Speaking on a podcast, he stated that his tactical approach in the final over was a mistake.
“I do not know what happened in that game against India. That was tragic. It was very heartbreaking. I think it was extremely heartbreaking. We cried on the ground. When we got back to the hotel, we cried. Me, Mushfiqur Rahim, we all cried. Many other members were crying as well because we were so close to beating India,” Mahmudullah said.
“But personally, in my life, that was a very life-changing lesson for me. You drag it to the last ball and you finish it off. At that particular moment, I was thinking that if we just hit one boundary, we would win. To be honest, that was dumb,” he added.
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