Bangladesh captain Litton Das admitted his side simply failed to play good cricket after their Asian Games campaign ended without a medal with a 63-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the bronze-medal match on Saturday.
Bangladesh had arrived in Japan with the target of reaching the final after winning two bronze medals at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou. But defeats to Pakistan in the semifinal and Sri Lanka in the bronze-medal match left them empty-handed.
Explaining the defeat to Sri Lanka, Litton gave a straightforward assessment of his team’s performance.
“We did not play good cricket. I thought we bowled very well in the first eight overs. Then you saw how one batter came in and played his shots on a very difficult wicket. He batted extraordinarily, and our bowlers had no clue how to make a comeback from there. Credit has to go to him for playing such an extraordinary innings,” Litton said after the match.
Sri Lanka were reduced to 54 for five before Sahan Arachchige and Tharindu Rathnayake changed the course of the innings with a 93-run sixth-wicket stand. Rathnayake smashed 65 off 32 balls to help Sri Lanka post 165 for nine.
Bangladesh never recovered in the chase, losing five wickets inside the powerplay before being bowled out for 102 in 17.3 overs.
“When we went in to bat, we could not cover the runs they had scored. With the bat, we were not up to the mark today,” Litton said.
The Bangladesh captain admitted the team were disappointed to miss out on even the bronze after going to Japan with hopes of reaching the final.
“It feels bad not to win the bronze. We came here with the target of playing in the final. When that did not happen, there was another opportunity. We missed that opportunity as well,” he said.
Litton also defended his teammates against criticism over players going outside the team environment during the Games, including for food and shopping, with questions raised over whether the team had taken the tournament lightly.
“How could you say that we took the Games lightly? Cricket requires many things. You need practice. Were there facilities here? No,” Litton said.
“Should a player remain confined to his room all day? If the food provided was not enough, should they not eat outside food? They need energy. If the food provided by the federation or the Asian Games was not suitable for us, should a player simply not eat? Of course they have to eat. And to eat, they have to go outside.”
Litton acknowledged that the lack of practice facilities was not unique to Bangladesh, but maintained that the team’s failure ultimately came down to their performance.
“We did not play good cricket,” he said.
