T20 World Cup 2022: "They played cricket below their expectations" - Harbhajan Singh criticizes Bangladesh's batting vs the Netherlands

Harbhajan Singh has criticized Bangladesh's batting in their T20 World Cup 2022 opener against the Netherlands.

Shakib Al Hasan and Co. managed 144/8 in their allotted 20 overs after being asked to bat first at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Monday, October 24. They went on to win the match by a narrow margin of nine runs as they bowled out the Netherlands for 135.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked about Bangladesh's batting performance. He responded:

"There is no doubt that the Netherlands bowled well but the batting was extremely bad. The tactfulness was not seen in the batting. I feel they played cricket below their expectations."

Harbhajan pointed out that Bangladesh frittered away an excellent start provided by their openers. The former Indian spinner elaborated:

"They started very well, they were 43/1 but after that, they kept on losing wickets continuously. Shakib (Al Hasan) tried to play a big shot and got out. If they had tried to string together partnerships, the score would have been 170-175 instead of 144, but we will also have to praise Holland's bowling."

Najmul Hossain Shanto (25 runs off 20 balls) and Soumya Sarkar (run-a-ball 14) added 43 runs for the first wicket in five overs. Barring Afif Hossain, who top-scored with 38 runs off 27 deliveries, and Mosaddek Hossain (unbeaten 20 off 12), none of the Bangladesh batters made a meaningful contribution thereafter.

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"They knew that the Bangladesh batters play the fuller length well" - Harbhajan Singh on the Netherlands bowling

The Netherlands seamers picked up six of the eight Bangladesh wickets. [P/C: T20 World Cup/Twitter]

Harbhajan was also asked about the tactics employed by the Netherlands bowlers. He replied:

"They bowled an excellent length, back of a length. They knew that the Bangladesh batters play the fuller length well because the bounce on the Bangladesh pitches is less."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by highlighting that the Netherlands bowlers exploited the Bangladesh batters' weakness against shorter deliveries. He explained:

"When the balls are pitched shorter, where you can play the cut or pull shots, the Bangladesh batters don't play them that well and Holland used that properly and because of that, they dismissed seven batters."

Paul van Meekeren (2/21) and Bas de Leede (2/29) were the Netherlands' most successful bowlers. Fred Klaassen and Logan van Beek, the other two seamers used by Scott Edwards, also accounted for a wicket apiece.