Bangladesh A captain Akbar Ali admitted he had “no explanation” for his decisive misthrow in the Rising Stars Asia Cup semi final against India, an incident that overshadowed his side’s progress to the final before their eventual defeat to Pakistan.
The mistake came on the final ball of the semi final, when India needed four runs to win. Harsh Dubey’s shot towards long on was taken cleanly by Jishan Alam, and his return found Akbar with time to complete a straightforward run out even after the batters had completed two runs. Instead, Akbar held the ball, then opted to throw from a distance toward an area with no fielder, allowing India to scramble an extra run and force a super over.
Bangladesh prevailed in the super over thanks to Ripon Mondol’s accurate pace bowling, although they later lost the final to Pakistan, again in a super over. Speaking after returning home, Akbar acknowledged the magnitude of his error. “To be honest, I do not know what happened in that moment. I have no explanation for why I did that. It just happened,” he said. “The mistake I made is something even an Under 12 player would not do.”
Akbar said he apologised to his team immediately after the semi final. “I told everyone I was sorry. I made a mistake and there is no explanation for it,” he said.
Back to back super overs left the wicketkeeper batter surprised. “I do not think any team is used to super overs,” he said. “They happen very rarely. It is unusual that we played two in a row. When you go into a super over you have to play shots. Whether it is India, us or Pakistan, you have to take high risks. Sometimes it clicks, sometimes it does not. That is how I see it.”
Despite returning without the trophy, Akbar described the campaign as a success. “Alhamdulillah, we played good cricket in most parts as a group,” he said. “There were several notable performances. It was a good tournament for us.”
He added that a few small improvements might have changed the outcome. “If we had won the final, and if we had avoided some mistakes in other matches, then I would have said we had played the perfect tournament,” he said.
