The US head coach did not dwell too much on the 10-wicket defeat and wanted to test his bench ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Mohammed Issam
USA head coach Stuart Law said his team was hungrier than Bangladesh in winning the men’s T20I series in Texas. The USA was playing a bilateral series against a full-team team for the first time and won the first two matches before losing the final T20I by 10 wickets to take the series 2-1.
“In the first two matches, we had more enthusiasm and passion for the game,” Low said after the third T20I. “We wanted to win more than they did. Today was different. We might have let our guard down a bit. Bangladesh played pretty well. I think they will come through this well.”
“It’s great preparation. Playing a match is much better than hitting the ball into the net. Anything can happen in a one-off match. That’s what the World Cup is like – no one goes in as an absolute favourite.”
The US rested first-choice players such as captain Monankh Patel, opener Steven Taylor, all-rounder Harmeet Singh and fast bowler Ali Khan to test their reserves, which left gaping holes in the batting and bowling departments. Bangladesh capitalised, scoring a huge win with Mustafizur Rahman’s six-wicket haul. After restricting the US to 104 for 9, Tanjid Hasan and Sowmya Sarkar put together an unbeaten 108-run opening stand to give Bangladesh a consolation win with 50 balls to spare.
Low, however, was not too critical of the visitors. He said Bangladesh have the ability to bounce back from this series loss and perform better in the T20 World Cup. Low was Bangladesh’s head coach in 2012 and has worked for BCB’s development team for many years. He also served as head coach at the Men’s Under-19 World Cup earlier this year but his contract was not renewed in February. This was Low’s first job since being appointed USA coach.
“Bangladesh are a good team. You (media) are putting a lot of pressure on them,” he said. “That’s one thing I know. They have some of the best strikers in world cricket. Two batsmen have scored runs.” [today] Beautiful cricket shots, a few bowlers could bowl with good pace. Bangladesh spinners are always strong. They are a good team.”
The U.S. led 2-0 heading into the third T20I and had a rare opportunity to test players off the bench without worrying about the result.
“Anytime you can win a series against a top team 2-1, it’s good,” Law said. “Don’t read too much into it. [the 10-wicket defeat].
“We had a chance to win the series today. It was good to give the other guys a chance. We wanted to make sure everyone got some matches before going into the World Cup. The World Cup is going to be intense. Every game is like a final. Both our wins here were very good performances.”
Aaron Jones: US win against India or Pakistan wouldn’t be an upset
Aaron Jones, who led the Americans in Monunk’s absence, said his team lost steam in the middle innings. The Americans were 46 for 0 in the fifth over but fell to 60 for 5 after openers Andries Gauss and Shayan Jahangir fell, and were held to below-par scores thereafter.
“We didn’t read the situation well in the middle overs,” Jones said. “Shot selection was a big issue today. We could have played sweep shots. Basically, the Bangladesh bowlers overpowered us and we just tumbled along.”
“We should have tried more things. We could have rotated our offense better. It’s a learning curve.”
Jones echoed the sentiments of his teammate Khan a few days ago, saying the USA’s win over Bangladesh was a good reminder of just how good they are.
“We’re a very good team,” Jones said. “We obviously showed what we’re made of against Bangladesh, one of the best teams in the world. Beating Pakistan or India wouldn’t be called an upset, but let’s just say we played better on the day. It’s a cricket game. Good teams can lose.”
Mohammed Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
