Following Bangladesh’s heartbreaking one-run loss to West Indies in the Super Over, Soumya Sarkar has taken full responsibility for his inability to make the most of key scoring opportunities.
Needing 11 runs to win, Bangladesh were gifted an ideal start when West Indies bowler Akeal Hosein opened the Super Over with a wide followed by a no-ball. Soumya managed two runs from the no-ball delivery but failed to take advantage of the resulting free hits, scoring just three runs from three balls before being dismissed on the fourth legal delivery.
“Today I could not take advantage of three free hits,” Soumya admitted at the post-match press conference. “This has happened to me before as well. I missed several free hits in the past. But I was not under any mental pressure. All the deliveries I faced were more or less free hits. My aim was to hit a six or find the boundary, but I could not do it. Maybe there was something lacking on my part.”
Soumya revealed that the team had anticipated Akeal would bowl the Super Over and had mentally prepared for it. Despite this, he could not execute as planned. “There was a left-arm spinner and I was confident I could get at least one boundary,” he said. “But the pitch was not easy. It was not a surface where you could hit fours and sixes easily. The ball was quite old by then.”
He added, “After 50 overs it was clear that even when we tried to hit, it was not going. To hit big, the pitch also needs to help. The ball was coming slowly and there was a lot of turn. If the wicket is like this again, we will have to practise how to hit sixes in such conditions.”
Despite the narrow defeat, Soumya’s honesty about his missed chances stood out as he acknowledged his role in the result.
