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Silly shots against Jadhav led to downfall - Shakib

The Bangladesh allrounder blamed overeager shot selection against part-time spin as the reason for his team's defeat in the Champions Trophy semi-finall

Shakib Al Hasan fell to Ravindra Jadeja during a period when Bangladesh lost three wickets for 25 runs  •  Getty Images

Shakib Al Hasan fell to Ravindra Jadeja during a period when Bangladesh lost three wickets for 25 runs  •  Getty Images

Bangladesh were "nowhere near their best," said Shakib Al Hasan, as they succumbed to a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of India in the Champions Trophy semi-final at Edgbaston.
They were progressing well at 154 for 2 with Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal well set with more than 20 overs left. But the introduction of Kedar Jadhav's part-time offspin created "panic" in the batsmen who, in Shakib's words, "played some silly shots" to be knocked over for 264.
Shakib dismissed the idea that inexperience was to blame, pointing out that the players Jadhav dismissed were among the most seasoned in the Bangladesh side.
"The way we performed today was very disappointing," Shakib said. "We were in a good position to get 320 or 330. The batsmen were looking good to make individual hundreds and get us to 320.
"But India bowled a few dot balls. And because it was a part-time bowler, the batsmen tried to score more runs and in doing that, they lost wickets. Losing two wickets to an occasional bowler obviously didn't help. And from there on they kept on bowling in good areas and that put us under a lot of pressure.
"We have played enough games to know these things happen. We are all experienced people. Bowlers bowl good balls and sometimes you can't score runs. It doesn't mean you panic and play big shots and get out. We played some silly shots. And on this wicket, a score of 260 or 270 is not even par.
"In that situation, it was important for them to bat another five or 10 overs, like the way I did with Mahmudullah against New Zealand. If they could have batted until the 40th over, both would have scored their hundreds and we might have made 330 or 340.
"That was the game-changing period. It is disappointing. Playing in a semi-final is a big thing for us but we were nowhere near our best."
Shakib wasn't overly impressed with Bangladesh's performance in the field, either. While he accepted the batsman had made life "very hard" for the bowlers with an inadequate total, he was disappointed by their response.
"We have a solid bowling line-up," he said. "But there isn't much help for the bowlers on these wickets unless you are a super quality bowler. Most of our bowlers need a little bit of help from the wicket, but we haven't been getting any. I haven't taken any wickets in the tournament.
"With our total and that wicket, we knew it was very hard for our bowlers. But still I think we were nowhere near our best in our bowling and fielding."
Shakib insisted there were no divisions in the squad, though, and suggested that the team would learn from the experience.
"It's a group," he said. "It's nothing individual. We play as a team, we win as a team and we lose as a team.
"Now we have time to regroup and come back strongly. We've come a long way and from here we can only go forward. We will have a good break and think how we can move forward."

George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo