This is as bad as it gets: Bangladesh skipper Shakib after loss to Dutch

Bangladesh`s captain Shakib Al Hasan gestures as he walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal during the 2023 ICC Men`s Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between Netherlands and Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Pic/AFP

A demoralised Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan slammed his players following their 87-run defeat against the Netherlands in the World Cup, saying it doesn't get any worse and adding that he wasn't able to figure out what was going on in their minds. Netherlands caused another upset in the tournament, demolishing Bangladesh for 142 runs in 42.2 over after setting them a victory target of 230. Bangladesh, following their fifth consecutive defeat in six matches, are effectively out of the tournament as they have just two points. "We have been poor with the bat all tournament and this is as bad as it gets. There is more cricket to come and we have to pick ourselves up and I know it's hard but we have to try to finish the tournament on a high," said Shakib, who himself contributed just five runs here on Saturday. "Throughout the tournament, we have been struggling, I don't know what's on the players' minds," he added. The veteran all-rounder was also unhappy with the fielding effort, saying his players were "sloppy".

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"I thought we bowled really well but we were sloppy in the field. We should have restricted them to 160-170 from the position we were in." Netherlands' hero of the day Paul van Meekeren said his team still has the determination to go all the way to the semifinals after causing another upset of the World Cup. The Dutch had defeated South Africa earlier in the tournament. Pace bowler Van Meekeren's superb figures of 4 for 23 aided by Bas de Leede's equally potent bowling (2/25) decimated Bangladesh. Van Meekeren said the victory was special. "Pretty special. We said we wanted to go for the semis, you need to win games. Very happy with how we bounced back after Australia (loss). We were pretty confident (today)," said van Meekeren. "At the halfway mark of our innings we thought 230-240 (would be a challenging total] and we got there. Aryan Dutt and Logan van Beek kept it very tight in the first 10 overs," said van Meekeren. On the crisp fielding efforts by his players, he said it was because the team does a 20-minute drill before every game.

"Every training we come in and do 20 minutes of fielding. Bassy (Bas de Leede) got a good throw at the stumps tonight. Hard to pick an individual performance. Pure team performance," he said. This is the first time Netherlands have won twice at the same World Cup, courtesy their aggressive and disciplined bowling effort. Dutch skipper Scott Edwards said his bowlers had put in a superb effort. "I was sort of speaking to a couple of guys and we thought that if we could get somewhere around 220-plus, we would have a chance. They (bowlers) have all been brilliant." On Netherlands' strong showing in this World Cup, he said the "system" to play the game in the country was improving. "Probably a bit of everything. The system has been getting better in Netherlands. We have had a good 18 months. We feel like we are putting the work in and we are getting some of those rewards. We spoke at the start of the tournament about giving us a chance at the semis and that looks tricky but that'll remain our goal."

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