Shakib Al Hasan hopes to finish 5th or 6th in ODI World Cup 2023

Bangladesh lost their fourth consecutive match of the tournament in the ODI World Cup 2023. In 5 matches so far in the tournament, Bangladesh has a win against Afghanistan, and four losses against England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa respectively. In their latest match in the tournament, Bangladesh lost to South Africa by a huge margin of 149 runs. 

Speaking about their campaign so far in the tournament, Shakib Al Hasan felt that it would be good for Bangladesh to finish in the mid-table. The Bangladesh captain felt that ending in a 5th or 6th position in the points table would be a good result for Bangladesh, if not for reaching the semifinal of the tournament. Shakib felt that India, New Zealand, and South Africa were dominating the tournament at the moment. 

"A lot to learn and a lot to play for. We want to finish, if not semifinalists then five or six. We can still do it, I'm hopeful we can come back stronger. At the moment India, New Zealand and South Africa are the three teams that look like they can win the title. But anything can happen, a long way to go," said Shakib after the loss against South Africa. 

'I thought we bowled well for 35 overs' - Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh have their last 4 matches against Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands. There is a good chance for the Asian side to have a good end to their tournament. For that to happen, Shakib felt the need for the top 5 batters of Bangladesh to score runs. "The top five who are not scoring need to score more and then we can get more out of them," added Shakib. 

Shakib felt that the way De Kock and Klaasen batted in the last 15 overs was fantastic, which was responsible for their loss. "I thought we bowled well for 35 overs, took a few wickets and going at five an over. From thereon they kicked on, especially Quinton (de Kock), he batted really well and the way Klaasen finished it off, on a ground like this it can happen like that," concluded Shakib.