[CRK]

Bangladesh Falls Short in First ODI Against New Zealand: Saif Hassan Reflects on the Loss

Bangladesh began the ODI series with a loss, beaten by 26 runs by New Zealand in the first match of the three-match series in Mirpur. The visitors now lead the series 1-0.

New Zealand scored 247 runs after batting first, and while chasing, Bangladesh were bowled out for 221 runs despite good efforts from Saif Hassan, Litton Das, and Towhid Hridoy.

Saif Hassan on the Challenging Pitch

After the match, opener Saif Hassan represented Bangladesh in the press conference. He scored 57 off 76 balls and shared his thoughts on the pitch. “I think the pitch was a bit challenging early on. We lost wickets at the wrong times. If I could have stayed longer, it might have been easier. It was easier for set batters, but tough for new ones. That’s something we need to adjust to.”

Comparing it with the Pakistan series, he said, “The wickets in the Pakistan series were more true. This one wasn’t bad either. It was good, just a bit challenging. There’s no excuse really. When you represent your country, you’re expected to have the skills. We just couldn’t do well today.”

Adapting to Different Conditions

Saif added, “We had an idea of how the pitch might behave. There was some uneven bounce today. But again, that’s not an excuse. Losing wickets at the wrong time cost us the match. We have to adapt to different conditions. That’s part of being professional cricketers.”

When asked if players being used to batting at the top in domestic cricket affects the middle order, Saif simply replied, “It could be.”

Looking Ahead to the Next Match

On losing despite New Zealand fielding a relatively less experienced side, he said, “I don’t know about that. We know New Zealand came as a national team. We’ll try to bounce back in the next match.”

The second ODI will be played on April 20.