Misbah happy with batting performance on difficult pitch

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has said that 135 was a "good enough" score at Mirpur given the amount of bounce and turn the bowlers were getting. Batting first, Pakistan had struggled against the Bangladesh spinners in getting to that score, but their bowlers made short work of the hosts to give them a 50-run win.

"I think it was a difficult wicket to bat on," Misbah said. "There were some loose patches and the ball was just bouncing and turning and I think scoring 135 runs on this wicket was good enough.

"If you consider the wicket, I think the batsmen did a pretty good job for the way they got the start. There was a little tremble in the middle overs, which cut down the score by 10 to 12 runs. Scoring 140 or 150 would have been a brilliant job."

It was the turn and bounce that encouraged Misbah to hand the new ball to offspinner Mohammad Hafeez, and the decision paid off immediately. Hafeez dismissed Alok Kapali in his first over on the way to figures of 2 for 11.

"We saw patches on the wicket on which the ball was bouncing and turning," Misbah said. "So it was a good idea to start with the spinners, specially Mohammed Hafeez for the way he bowls. He bowls wicket to wicket and gets a bit of bounce and turn."

Having seen first-hand how difficult it was to play spin on this wicket, Hafeez was mentally ready to open the bowling as well. "We had a plan to cut their runs in the first six overs and I have bowled with a new ball before and I am confident in doing so," Hafeez said. "The captain knew that I can be worthy with the new ball for which I was given the job and I tried to give 100%."

Despite their victory, Misbah said that low-scoring T20 games were less exciting than high scoring ones. "I think the game and the crowd demands more batting wickets for the game to become more entertaining. But I think these matters are not under the control of the players. We are professionals and should respect whatever wicket we get."