Alick Athanaze Hails Bowlers Efforts After Impressive Display Against Bangladesh in 2nd T20I

West Indies defeated Bangladesh in the 2nd T20I by a small margin of 14 runs. This nail-biting victory came on the back of a strong bowling performance that kept the Bangladesh batting lineup consistently under pressure throughout the match. The rising star of West Indies, Alick Athanaze, also acknowledged this fact, saying that the bowlers did a wonderful job while defending a low total against the home team.

"Our bowlers showed their class again. We bowled very well. They showed why we are one of the best T20 sides in the world.” said Alick Athanaze at the post-match press conference.

He further said that the pitch became better as the game progressed. The bowlers were also looking to get a good start, and Holder did exactly that by picking up early wickets. This allowed other players to exert more pressure on the home side, which was struggling to find momentum during the match.

"I felt the pitch got better. The dew has a lot of effect on the pitch. We took the total in our stride. We wanted to make a good start with the ball. We weren't the best in the field, but the bowlers showed their class. They picked up wickets and restricted them.” said Alick Athanaze.

He added that controlling the Powerplay allowed West Indies to halt the scoring rate. Due to this, they managed to take regular wickets, as Bangladesh batters weren’t able to play big shots down the ground.

"Once you control the powerplay, it gets difficult (to score) when the field is spread. We tried our best to utilise our bowlers. We know they are not big power-hitters down the ground, so we tried our best to plan for them." said Alick Athanaze.

From the Bangladesh perspective, the chase in the second innings looked very disorganized. Only Tanzid Hasan showcased some resistance with the bat, while the other batters failed miserably.

After the match, Tanzid regretted that Bangladesh should have chased down the target. He suggested that batters need to find a way out while handling such tough situations. It is certainly becoming a problem for Bangladesh, because the batting has been struggling for quite some time.

"I thought regardless of the wicket, we should have chased 150. It was the batters' failure. We couldn't take responsibility. I think it was a bad day for the batters. I think we have to find a way to minimise playing dot balls. We haven't achieved consistency of late. The batting is not clicking. We have to find ways to rotate strike and play bigger knocks. The batters have to find a way out of this." said Tanzid Hasan after the match.

He further acknowledged that winning the match in the end was his responsibility, but unfortunately, he failed to do so. While batting with Jaker Ali, he was confident to build a partnership, but West Indies bowlers didn’t allowed them to take the game forward.

"Jaker bhai helped us win in the West Indies. I told him that he had won us a game against West Indies, so he can do it again. I told him that if we stuck together as a pair, we could have won the game. I think I had the bigger responsibility, but I couldn't perform up to expectations.” said Tanzid Hasan.

He then lauded the efforts of Bangladesh bowlers by saying that they are a world-class unit. He said the performances of these players need to be backed by good batting, so he urged his fellow partners to come up with better plans next time.

"We have a world-class bowling department. They usually restrict the opposition on any wicket. The batters must follow how the bowlers have helped the team and taken the team forward. Responsibility is for everyone in the team. We have to do well as a batting unit." said Tanzid Hasan.

Bangladesh will now face West Indies in the 3rd T20I at the same venue on October 31. The home team will look to win this game to salvage some pride, however, West Indies are confident to wrap up the series with a clean sweep.