The Dhaka Capitals captain Mohammad Mithun admitted after the match that one wrong decision from him changed the course of the game, calling it “one of the biggest mistakes” of his life.
Mithun was speaking after Sylhet Titans beat Dhaka Capitals by a big margin, a result shaped by a dramatic late surge led by Moeen Ali. The turning point came in the 19th over, when Mithun’s bowling change completely shifted the momentum.
That moment arrived late in Thursday’s match in Sylhet. Dhaka’s Afghan pacer Ziaur Rahman had just completed an excellent over. He conceded only two runs and dismissed two dangerous batters. After 18 overs, Sylhet were 135 for five. Moeen had just walked to the crease.
For the 19th over, Mithun handed the ball to off spinner Nasir Hossain. The decision backfired immediately. Moeen went on the attack from the first ball. He smashed three sixes, two fours and ran a double. The over cost 28 runs, the most expensive of this year’s Bangladesh Premier League.
That single over changed the match. Sylhet then took another 17 runs from Ziaur Rahman’s final over. A team that was struggling to reach 150 suddenly added 45 runs in the last two overs and finished on 180.
Speaking at the press conference, Mithun openly accepted the blame.
“This is actually one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” he said. “To be honest, Nasir had given only seven runs in his first three overs, so I trusted him. When Moeen came to the wicket, I felt the ball might still grip and that Nasir had the ability to stop him. At that time, the pacers were giving away 10 to 12 runs per over.”
He added that the call did not work as planned.
“If it had worked, it would have been great. But bringing Nasir at that moment was not the right decision. I made a big mistake. I had other options and could have used someone else.”
Nasir had bowled three overs for just seven runs, including a maiden, and finished his spell within 11 overs. In T20 cricket, captains rarely use an off spinner in the second last over. Dhaka still had one over each left from experienced pacers Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Saifuddin.
Moeen later said he was not surprised by the bowling change.
“No, I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “He had already bowled three overs, so I felt he might come back when I arrived. But I was more than happy to face an off spinner, or any spinner at that time. There was no option other than playing shots. I tried, and it was my day.”
Sylhet Titans defended 180 with ease and won the match by 60 runs. Moeen Ali, who scored 28 off eight balls and later took two wickets, was named man of the match.
