We wanted to bat, but early wickets set us back: Hridoy reflects on Bangladesh's fightback

Dubai, February 21: Bangladesh opted to bat first in their Champions Trophy opener against India in Dubai but found themselves in deep trouble at 35/5 within the first nine overs. The situation could have been even worse had Rohit Sharma not dropped a straightforward catch off Jaker Ali on Axar Patel's hat-trick delivery in the ninth over. Towhid Hridoy, who stitched together a remarkable 154-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Jaker, played a crucial knock of 100 off 118 balls. Reflecting on his innings, Hridoy said he had to fight and find a way to steer Bangladesh to a competitive total, as per ESPNcricinfo.

"We were clear what we wanted to do if we won the toss. We wanted to bat. Yes, we lost some early wickets, which set us back. But despite that, the way we came back, Jaker and I, if one of us had done a bit more, we might have got to 260-270," Hridoy said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"The match scenario would have been different then. We scored 30-40 runs too few. If you see, they took 46.3 overs to finish the chase, so it wasn't easy," he added.

"The pitch was tricky. Look at their innings, they were not too comfortable either. But that's not in our hands. Conditions are different everywhere - we have to play on the pitch we get. This is not an excuse. I am just saying that the pitch was tricky to bat on," he said.

He came to bat at No. 5 with his team struggling at 26/3, Hridoy saw Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana do early damage before Axar Patel dismissed Tanzid Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim off consecutive deliveries. With wickets tumbling, Hridoy and Jaker focused on consolidation, adopting a cautious approach that may not have been ideal but was necessary to prevent further collapse. As the innings progressed, the pitch seemed to settle, making batting slightly easier.

"It might have looked easy, but it wasn't, since we had lost five wickets," Hridoy said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"We talked a lot with each other and to ourselves. We had to fight and find a way. I played a lot of dot balls at the start, but I felt I would be able to catch up. But my cramps set me back. If such a situation crops up again, I might do even better. I hope we don't make the same mistakes again," he said.

"I think my cramps hampered our innings. I might have been able to score 20-30 runs more if I hadn't cramped up," he added.

Defending just 228 against India's formidable batting lineup, Bangladesh's chances looked slim, especially after a shaky start with the ball--India raced to 68 for 1 in the first ten overs, compared to Bangladesh's 39 for 5. Despite their fightback in the middle overs to tighten the contest, India remained in control. Shubman Gill's unbeaten 101 ultimately proved decisive, guiding India to victory.

"I did think we could fight with the runs we had. We bowled well and fought well. We gave away a few boundaries at the start, which didn't help, but we fought back well," Hridoy said, as per quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"If we had taken a couple more wickets at the start, the scenario could have been different," he said.