(Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail)
Pakistan’s abysmal defeat in the first T20I against Bangladesh has become a subject of much discussion across the country, but head coach Mike Hesson has pointed to the surface in Mirpur as the main reason for the loss.
Pakistan stumbled to 110 all-out at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in a performance that raised tactical concerns once more, but Mike Hesson didn’t hold back in his post-match assessment about the pitch, calling the surface “not acceptable” for international cricket.
“I think (the pitch) is not ideal for anybody,” Hesson said. “Teams are trying to prepare for the Asia Cup or the (T20) World Cup. It is not acceptable. It is still no excuse for some of the decisions we made with the bat. But this pitch is not up to international standards.”
The visitors lost five wickets inside eight overs, with aggressive strokeplay and the two-paced nature of the surface adding to their downfall. Fakhar Zaman’s innings was the only positive as Pakistan failed to even bat out the full 20 overs.
“We got off to a little bit of a flyer. Fakhar Zaman played four or five shots. It gave us a false indication about how the surface was playing,” Hesson said. “We didn’t help ourselves through the middle. We chose some poor options,” Mike Hesson added.
From Bangladesh’s perspective, the pitch looked far less problematic as the hosts chased down the modest target with 27 balls to spare and seven wickets in hand.
“We didn’t feel (it was a bad pitch) as we chased it down in less than 16 overs,” said opener Parvez Hossain Emon. Bangladesh has used bowling tracks at home to good effect in recent years, and the other two surfaces are likely to play the same, much to Mike Hesson’s chagrin.
“You need good cricket wickets to develop cricketers,” Mike Hesson argued. “There were some good wickets during the BPL, to be fair. It is not up to the standard when international cricket is being played.”
Mike Hesson’s comments are likely to give Bangladesh even more motivation for a win, as Pakistan continues to search for answers. With just one day left before the second T20I, the team and the coach need to quickly sort out their plans in order to avoid their first bilateral T20I series loss to Bangladesh (more than one match), bad pitch or not.
