Bangladesh’s Asia Cup 2025 journey came to an end after an 11-run loss to Pakistan in the Super Fours clash in Dubai. Head coach Phil Simmons expressed frustration over dropped catches and poor batting decisions that derailed their chase of 136. Despite having Pakistan at 51 for 5, missed chances allowed their opponents to recover and eventually secure the win.
Dropped Chances Shifted the Momentum
The turning point came when Nurul Hasan and Mahedi Hasan put down Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 12th over. Afridi went on to strike two sixes in a quick 19 off 13 balls. Soon after, Parvez Hossain Emon spilled a catch off Mohammad Nawaz, who made a valuable 25 off 15.
“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑵𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒛, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅,” 𝑺𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍.”
Simmons dismissed the idea that Dubai’s “ring of fire” floodlights were to blame for the lapses, insisting the missed catches were purely down to execution.
Batting Errors Prove Costly
Bangladesh’s batting unit, which had impressed in their win over Sri Lanka, faltered against Pakistan. Though they struck more sixes, reckless shot-making cost them key wickets. Simmons admitted the absence of skipper Litton Das, sidelined with a side strain, left a huge void.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔,” 𝑺𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅. “𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.”
He pointed out that just two games earlier, Bangladesh successfully chased 169 against Sri Lanka on the same surface by making smarter choices.
Progress and Positives
Simmons also touched on Bangladesh’s long-standing issue of strike rates. While he admitted the team lags behind the world’s best in this department, he praised their growing ability to clear the ropes and stressed the need for partnerships.
Bangladesh also experimented with their batting order, promoting Mahedi Hasan to No. 4. Though he scored only 11, Simmons defended the move, saying it was aimed at targeting Pakistan’s pacers early on.
Despite the disappointment, Simmons highlighted positives from the tournament, particularly the performances of opener Saif Hassan and the bowling unit.
“𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒏,” 𝑺𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕-𝒐𝒏, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.”
Bangladesh finished their campaign with wins over Afghanistan and Sri Lanka but fell short against India and Pakistan, missing out on the final.
Also Read: Gary Stead Returns to NZC as High-Performance Coach
