No one expected that we will lose two games against USA: Shakib

The USA registered their first T20I series win over a full-member team on May 23 (Thursday), beating Bangladesh by six runs in the second T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Shakib Al Hasan said this series will serve as a perfect wake-up call for Bangladesh before the T20 World Cup.

Having lost the first T20I by five wickets, Bangladesh restricted the USA to 144/6 in the first innings of the second T20I. They managed to get the equation down to 21 off 18, with four wickets in hand and Shakib still out in the middle. Ali Khan then dismissed Shakib and Tanzim Hasan in the 18th over before getting the final wicket in the last over to script a historic win for the USA.

"Certainly, it is disappointing, and we didn't expect it, but we must give credit to the US team for the way they have played. I think no one expected that we will lose two games. Any match you lose as a team is disappointing and you don't want to lose a game and obviously it is very disappointing. But having said that we have to play the World Cup and this series might be a wake-up call for us as we haven't played the way we want to play,” Cricbuzz quoted Shakib as saying.

"It's a team game and everyone has to take the responsibility - you win as a team and you lose as a team. I don't want to blame any particular person or any particular department. It's just that T20 is such a format you have to play very good cricket in all three departments to win against any team. There are no small or big teams in T20 cricket and that's why it is more exciting than any other format. And the proof of that is in the last two games the way the US played."

So, did Bangladesh take their opponents lightly? "I don't think we took them lightly. In the first game maybe we couldn't do what we wanted to do and in the second game exactly the same thing happened - we couldn't execute the plans that we were supposed to do on the ground.

"In T20 every team is very much equal. I have seen the game between West Indies A and Nepal and they really played well and you are seeing games between Ireland and Netherlands and they are playing very close matches. Pakistan lost to Ireland and in T20 it is anybody's game. 

“It is on the day who performs better, and so you cannot take anything lightly in T20 cricket because one or two overs can change the momentum of the game and completely change the scenario of the game. That's why you are always up for the challenges and you cannot take anything lightly or anything for granted.”

Shakib, however, did complain about the facilities at the Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston. "If we take this as a preparation series for the World Cup, in that case, we should have a lot more batting and bowling sessions and there should have been more facilities that we didn't get at all. 

"I feel we had a proper net session for one day and even on that day the batsmen could not have the batting session. And there was an optional day and the batsmen did not seize the opportunity.

"For one day there was rain and we could not do anything on that day, while there are four grounds but we could train on only three pitches which I don't think is ideal. And I think these things could have been better.”

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