Liton Das admits Bangladesh’s subpar show led to T20 series loss against UAE

Bangladesh captain Liton Das acknowledged that his team’s underwhelming performance was a key reason behind their 2-1 T20 series defeat to a spirited United Arab Emirates side.

After winning the opening match by 27 runs, Bangladesh stumbled in the final two games, losing the series and conceding what many are calling a historic triumph for the UAE.

“Definitely, it’s not up to the mark when you come here always thinking to win the game, but still, this is part of life,” Liton said following the series loss. “When you play cricket, sometimes the opposition plays really well. Credit goes to them also. Still, we made a couple of mistakes in batting as well.”

In the second match, UAE chased down Bangladesh’s imposing total of 205-5, clinching victory by two wickets. They went on to seal the series with a dominant seven-wicket win in the decider, after restricting Bangladesh to 162-9 — a score salvaged by a late fightback from Jaker Ali Anik and Hasan Mahmud following a collapse to 84-8.

Liton also pointed to challenging playing conditions, particularly the impact of evening dew on bowlers, as a factor in the team’s losses.

“We bowled second in all three games, and so dew came to the fore. The dew is the main factor to neutralize our bowlers’ efficiency,” he said.

Despite the disappointment, Liton found encouragement in individual performances. Parvez Hossain Emon’s century in the first match — only the second by a Bangladeshi batter in T20Is after Tamim Iqbal — stood out. He also praised the efforts of Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Towhid Hridoy, and Jaker Ali Anik with the bat.

“Parvez Emon and Tanzid Tamim played well in a couple of games, Hridoy and Jaker batted really well,” Liton noted. “In the middle, a couple of guys bowled really well. But still, we have to learn, learn more, and execute in the match.”

The Bangladesh skipper also commended the UAE team for their composed and clinical performance.

“They played really well in the first half. They bowled well, and that’s why we couldn’t score that much,” he said. “In the batting, they got the favour of dew a little bit. Still, credit goes to them. They didn’t panic and batted with composure.”