New Delhi [India], October 3 : Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha shared his thoughts after his team's disappointing performance in the final Test of the two-match series at Green Park, Kanpur.
"The defeat is really painful in terms of our performance. India's approach was something we hadn't seen before. All credit to Rohit and the Indian team for that approach and making a match of it. We didn't react quickly enough," Hathurusingha said, as quoted by the ICC.
A batting collapse on the final day saw Bangladesh suffer a seven-wicket defeat in a match that lasted just 173.2 overs, making it the fourth-shortest Test in history. Bangladesh, who had hoped to bat through the fifth day to salvage a draw, managed to survive only one session. Within 21 minutes, skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shadman Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, and Litton Das succumbed to the relentless Indian attack.
"Batting was disappointing in this series," Hathurusingha added. "Some players performed well in the last series, but we haven't been playing to our potential in recent ones. One reason for our batting struggles was the quality of the opposition. The skill level displayed in this series was very high, and we are taking away a lot of lessons. This is the best team, and playing India in India is the toughest assignment. We understand how much we need to improve."
Bangladesh came into the series following a historic tour of Pakistan, where they secured a whitewash by winning both matches. However, Hathurusingha was aware that facing India would be a much greater challenge.
"We came here after beating Pakistan, but we knew the challenges in India would be steep. It's important not to let our emotions be dictated by our performance. We didn't get carried away after winning in Pakistan, so we shouldn't be too disheartened by this result. We know what we did well in Pakistan, and we understand what we couldn't do here to compete," he explained.
The head coach acknowledged that his team had been outplayed in the series and stressed the need for improvement to compete against stronger sides.
"I think we were completely outplayed in this series. The difference in skill levels was evident, and we need to improve. That said, we didn't play to our full potential, and we are disappointed by that. There's no point in putting undue pressure on each individual player if they aren't receiving the right support," the 56-year-old concluded.