ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

October 19, 2021

Zeeshan Maqsood

Oman Cricket Academy Ground

Oman

Post Match Media Conference

Bangladesh 153, Oman 127/9

Q. Your thoughts on the game?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: We are quite in the game, I'd like to say, until the 14th over. The way we are batting, so it's just eight plus eight -- eight run overs from it we acquired, but the last five or six overs we couldn't bat well and we lost so many wickets. So that cost us the loss.

But I'm happy with the way the bowlers bowled, and we just allowed them 153 runs, so we are happy the way the bowlers did, and we have to improve other areas where we went wrong like fielding. First 10 overs we did very bad. It's the second time in a row. So we have to look at the mistakes.

Q. You mentioned the fielding; as you said, the batting towards the lower order, it was a bit of a collapse. What do you think the reason for that was?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: Yeah, the reason is because that credit goes to the bowlers like Shakib. He got the three wickets within one and a half over, and he bowled very well. The status, they are playing right now, they're a test team. They have plenty of good players, and they showed it.

But we also fight very well, and I'm happy the way the boys played. They gave a good fight. I'd say like 15 overs they are a bit of -- you know, in the pressure side, Bangladesh. They also know maybe they are just one over, one or two overs if we got 15 plus runs, the game is ours. So that's it.

Q. What do you think the turning point in this game was, if you think there was a definitive turning point? Was it your wicket, Jatinder's wicket?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: Yeah, I'd say Jatinder's wicket because he's batting very well because he's batting almost 14 runs and just he's playing against Shakib and everybody is batting very well, but it's a bad shot; it went to the straight to the fielders. Like I said, it happens. It's cricket. We cannot say anything to the players, but they are trying their heart to do best for the team, for theirselves. So that's it.

Q. On the positive side, what were your thoughts during the innings break because at one point it looked like Bangladesh could even reach 180 but then you restricted them to 153.

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: Yeah, definitely I'm happy the way after 10 overs Fayyaz Butt has bowled. He bowled brilliantly. Also Bilal Khan, his spell is absolutely outstanding. If you bowl very well against the Test side in the top ranking team, it gives you the confidence booster to go forward to the next games.

Q. The last game, the next game is against Scotland. What will you be looking to change?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: Definitely it's a do-or-die game and we are playing in home soil so we have a little bit of advantage. Still, it's a tough game because Scotland are also playing very well, so we cannot take it easy. We'll try our best to win the game and qualify for the next round.

Q. How do you see the possibilities for you guys to go forward in the tournament with a loss like this?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: It's a game, because if you are two teams playing so someone has to win and one has to lose. It's just a point where we went wrong; we have to just admit it and correct it ourselves. Next game we have against Scotland, so we have to play positive cricket, good cricket to beat them and qualify for the next round.

The main thing for Oman, we are hosting, and if we qualify, qualify for the next round, it is a huge achievement. Hopefully we'll try our best to do it.

Q. Do you feel the group is wide open right now?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: Yeah, the group is wide open. It's just a little margin of error. It's not a big huge net run rate difference.

It's just only win; we have to simply win the game, and inshallah, we'll do it.

Q. Captain, just wanted to know how the team gets confidence the way Jatinder was batting today. You were in the game until the 13th over. How special was the innings?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: Yeah, definitely our top order batsmen like Jati, he's in good nick and he's batting very well. Like last game, also.

Just you can say just lack of the shot or a wrong pick, you can say, that's the one. But we are fully backing him to go forward and play like the way he's playing right now and just do right things for the team, for himself, and we are happy to see him the way he's batting right now against the Test side. So inshallah, we are fully confident the team will do better.

Q. I just have one more question, captain. Could you tell us how he got into this sort of form before the World Cup? What sort of work does he do? Is he a really hardworking cricketer or does he rely a lot on his talent?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: About who?

Q. Jatinder Singh.

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: Yeah, Jatinder is a very positive player. He's a very upbeat player, an upbeat person. He's always happy. Even he gets runs or he's not getting runs, but he was just a bit worried, but we are a team. We help each other; we back each other. That's how the team goes up, so we are fully backing each other.

Jati improved himself in the batting a lot, like you can say the last one and a half years, so credit goes to him and the coaches because if you've done hard work you will get reward, so that's it.

Q. Mohammad Naim was dropped twice in the game, and he scored a half century. Do you think that two dropped catches cost you dearly in this match?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: The two catches? You can say it's a fielding error. It's a game. Some players went and they took a hard catch, a good catch, so they dropped catches, also. Yes, some players, they get the chance and they utilise very well. I feel bad for him he couldn't make it. He should have take the side along in the winning position.

Like I said, we have to work on fielding. It's not acceptable the way we are fielding right now. This is a field where you can improve to do hard work every day, so we'll come back stronger, inshallah.

Q. Zeeshan, how confident are you that you're going to -- obviously it's a tough group. How confident are you that going to qualify for the Super 12s?

ZEESHAN MAQSOOD: Yeah, we are fully confident the way the team is doing and the way we played today, as well, because we are full with the confidence. It's just a matter of because we lost so many wickets, otherwise we should have through the game, and we are fully confident as a team, and we will give our best. We have to give our best because it's the last game, and we have a chance -- if we won the game we have a chance to go to the next round, and we can play better cricket over there and we can learn a lot from the Test side. So that's only the dream we have because as an associate team, if we want to play good cricket, we should go to the next level and you can improve your skills and so many things.