{"id":2387,"date":"2026-10-02T08:37:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T08:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/02\/litton-das-defends-mustafizur-after-bangladesh-miss-asian-ga\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T08:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T08:37:55","slug":"litton-das-defends-mustafizur-after-bangladesh-miss-asian-ga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/02\/litton-das-defends-mustafizur-after-bangladesh-miss-asian-ga\/","title":{"rendered":"Litton Das Defends Mustafizur After Bangladesh Miss Asian Games Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Bangladesh&#8217;s quest for a cricket gold medal at the Asian Games in Japan concluded on Thursday, October\u202f1, when the team fell to Pakistan by six wickets in the men\u2019s semifinal at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. The loss ended Bangladesh\u2019s hopes of reaching the final and ultimately claiming the top prize. Captain Litton Das addressed the media after the match, emphasizing his continued confidence in fast\u2011bowler Mustafizur Rahman despite the bowler\u2019s expensive two\u2011over spell.<\/p>\n<h2>Semifinal Result and Key Performances<\/h2>\n<p>Batting first, Bangladesh were limited to 111 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the 13 overs they were allotted, a reduction caused by rain\u2011affected conditions. Pakistan responded by chasing the target with nine balls to spare, finishing on 112 for four in 12.4 overs to secure a place in the final. Mustafizur Rahman, who bowled the opening two overs for Bangladesh, conceded 41 runs while taking the wicket of Pakistan\u2019s Saim\u202fAyub. The high run rate in those overs proved decisive in a contest that was already shortened by weather.<\/p>\n<p>Litton Das reflected on the outcome, noting that \u201cif we had bowled a little better in the middle overs and conceded fewer sixes, we would have had a better chance.\u201d He added that the team had \u201cseveral options (apart from Mustafizur)\u201d but explained that he chose the seasoned pacer because \u201che has been doing it for us for so long\u201d and was, in his view, the best option at the time.<\/p>\n<h2>Litton Das Explains the Team&#8217;s Preparation<\/h2>\n<p>The Bangladeshi side entered the semifinal without having played a prior match in the tournament because their quarter\u2011final against Malaysia was washed out by rain. As a result, the team\u2019s first competitive appearance was the high\u2011stakes encounter with Pakistan. Das described the preparation leading up to the game as \u201cnever ideal,\u201d explaining that the squad had been confined to their hotel rooms for several days due to persistent rain, limiting any opportunity for on\u2011field practice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had been sitting in our rooms for several days and then lost the toss, so there was not much we could do,\u201d Das said. He also highlighted the difficulty of reading the wicket, describing it as \u201cdifficult to read\u201d after a prolonged period without match practice. The lack of a \u201creference point\u201d made it challenging for the batsmen to gauge the conditions, which Das felt contributed to the team\u2019s early struggles.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the setbacks, Das praised the middle\u2011order partnership that helped Bangladesh recover from a precarious position. He gave credit to \u201cHridoy for bringing us back from that position\u201d and lauded the collaboration between Mosaddek and Hridoy, calling it \u201cvery good.\u201d The captain emphasized that adjusting to the pitch after an extended indoor stay required time, stating, \u201cIt is natural that when you have been indoors for so long and then finally get to play on a wicket, you need some time to understand the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Looking Ahead for Bangladesh Cricket<\/h2>\n<p>Expressing disappointment at missing the chance to contest the gold\u2011medal match, Das said, \u201cObviously, when we left the country, we said we wanted to play in the final. We could not make it there.\u201d He reaffirmed the team\u2019s ambition, noting that \u201cwe obviously wanted to win gold and that was what we were trying to achieve.\u201d<br \/>\nThe captain concluded on a forward\u2011looking note, acknowledging that \u201canother Bangladesh team will come in the future and they will try as well.\u201d He recognized that \u201cwhen certain things are lacking, a lot of factors go beyond your control,\u201d but affirmed that the squad had given its best effort and that future generations would continue the pursuit of Asian Games gold.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the semifinal highlighted the impact of weather\u2011induced scheduling changes, limited preparation time, and the pressure of a single knockout match. While Mustafizur Rahman&#8217;s spell proved costly, Litton Das\u2019s defense underscored the captain\u2019s belief in his bowler\u2019s experience and the broader challenges the team faced in adapting to conditions after an extended period of indoor confinement.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bangladesh captain Litton Das stood by bowler Mustafizur Rahman despite a costly spell in the Asian Games semifinal loss to Pakistan, ending the team&#8217;s gold\u2011medal hopes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[1661,1577,2613,2612,257],"class_list":["post-2387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-asian-games","tag-bangladesh-cricket","tag-litton-das","tag-mustafizur-rahman","tag-pakistan","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}