Jaker Ali blamed Bangladesh’s top-order collapse for their six-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2025.
Jaker Ali’s unbeaten 41 runs gave Bangladesh some late respectability along with Shamim Patowary’s 42, but it was not enough to prevent them from a heavy defeat by Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2025 group stage match. Both the players have added 86 runs for the sixth wicket after his team collapsed to 53 for 5. They lost their two wickets without scoring a run. In conclusion, Sri Lanka did not have to work hard to reach the total, and they chased it in just 14.4 overs with six wickets left.
After the game, in an interview, Jaker Ali addressed the issue of collapsing the top order being the biggest failure and the reason for the defeat.
“The openers and No. 3 are very important for us. They don’t need to go for boundaries every ball in the PowerPlay. Rotating the strike, playing smart cricket — these things matter. If we had planned properly and shown more focus at the start, the situation would have been better. That’s something they will think about going forward.”
“But batting is not just about individuals. Just because Shamim and I played well doesn’t mean we did well as a team. Together we batted poorly, and together we lost.”
He also highlighted the importance of adapting to conditions:
Read More: Full List of Asia Cup 2025 Commentators
“It’s not easy to score freely on both sides of the wicket here because of the wind. You have to understand when to attack and when to play safe. If we had a solid start, these risks would have been easier to manage. Since we lost early wickets, the risks became greater.”
Despite the setback, Jaker stressed that the team hasn’t given up hope of qualifying for the next stage:
“There is no question of giving up. We did not come here just to play matches, we came to be champions. One loss doesn’t mean we’ve lost hope. We will play every match with the mentality to win. That’s the only way forward.”