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If we won those two games, it could have been different : Mahmudullah

Bangladesh’s skipper Mahmudullah Riyad believes that their World Cup story could have been different if they had won the two close matches against Sri Lanka and the West Indies respectively, said after the defeat against South Africa, which saw them succumb to their fourth successive loss in the Super 12 stage.

The six-wicket defeat to South Africa was Bangladesh’s fourth straight defeat, having lost to Sri Lanka by five wickets before tasting an eight-wicket defeat to England and a heartbreak 3-run loss to West Indies.

The defeat was also Bangladesh’s seventh straight loss to South Africa in this format. If there was any chance of Bangladesh mathematically to reach the semifinal, it was completely dashed by this defeat.

Bangladesh however were asked to bat first in this match and were dismissed for 84, their third lowest total in the T20 World Cup. South Africa recovered from a shaky start to race to the victory with 33 balls to spare.

 “I think the wicket was pretty good to bowl on in the first half. We weren’t good enough in the middle. That was a poor batting display, but having said that there was enough assistance in the pitch,” Mahmudullah said in post-match ceremony following the defeat against South Africa which puts the Tigers out of contention for the semifinals.

Riyad praised Taskin’s performance and a series of bad performances could have been avoided if they had won close encounters.

During the games against Sri Lanka and the West Indies, Bangladesh was in strong situations but lost owing to poor fielding, bowling, and batting decisions.

“Taskin has been bowling well in this tournament. We had the choice between Taskin and Fizzy, but we went with Taskin because he has been bowling well. It’s frustrating, but we could have won two games. If we had won those games, it would have been a different story,” Mahmudullah concluded.

Bangladesh will take on Australia in their last match of the Super 12 on Thursday.

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