ISLAMABAD: Pakistan team head coach Mike Hesson finally admitted that Pakistan’s fragile batting line-up was thoroughly exposed as they slumped to a humiliating eight-wicket defeat inside just 15 overs against Bangladesh in one of their worst-ever One-day International performances.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, a visibly disappointed Hesson conceded that both senior and junior batsmen failed to cope with the relentless Bangladesh bowling attack, which was spearheaded brilliantly by young pace sensation Nahid Rana.
“Both juniors and seniors in our batting line-up were exposed today,” Hesson said. “We simply could not come up to the required standard against the Bangladesh attack. Nahid Rana led the charge superbly and we had no answers to his pace and accuracy.”
The Pakistan coach was full of praise for the Bangladeshi fast bowler, describing his spell as one of the finest exhibitions of fast bowling he had witnessed in recent times. “He was exceptional. The way he maintained his line and length, mixed up his pace and consistently troubled our batsmen was remarkable. I had not seen Nahid bowl live before, but the way he performed today was outstanding,” he added.
Pakistan’s batting collapsed dramatically under pressure as Nahid Rana ripped through the line-up with a devastating spell of 5 for 24, reducing the hosts to a modest total of just 114 runs. The Bangladeshi pacer used his variations cleverly, employing sharp bouncers and forcing the Pakistani batsmen into errors with intelligent field placements and disciplined bowling.
“Nahid used his armoury extremely well,” Hesson said. “He knew exactly where to bowl, how to use the short ball and how t o force batsmen into playing deliveries they should have left.” The Pakistan head coach admitted that the batting unit had collectively failed to deliver when it mattered most and stressed the need for immediate improvement if Pakistan were to bounce back in the series.
“It was disappointing all around. Our batting simply did not click today. We have to regroup quickly over the next couple of days, reassess our approach and raise our standards if we want to keep ourselves alive in the series,” he said.
Among Pakistan’s debut batsmen, only opener Sahibzada Farhan showed some resistance with a modest 27-run knock. However, the three other three debutants in the side failed to make any meaningful contribution, with two falling for single-digit scores as Bangladesh wrapped up the contest comfortably.
The defeat has now placed Pakistan under immense pressure heading into the remaining matches of the series, with the team management hoping for a much stronger response from the struggling batting line-up.
