Bangladesh Stand-In Captain Breaks Silence On Virat Kohli Wide Ball Controversy vs India

Bangladesh stand-in captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has rubbished the suggestion that spinner Nasum Ahmed "intentionally" bowled a wide ball to deny Virat Kohli a century towards the end of India's chase in their World Cup clash. Kohli was batting on 97 with nine overs left and India needing another two runs to achieve the target of 257 here on Thursday, when Ahmed sent a delivery down the leg side, which surprisingly was also not adjudged a wide by the on-field umpire Richard Kettleborough.

A couple of deliveries later, in the 42nd over, Kohli deposited the ball over deep midwicket to finish the game with a six, reaching 103 not out and completing India's comfortable win.

Shanto defended Ahmed after Bangladesh's third defeat on the bounce saying they wanted to play a "proper game".

“No, no. There was no such plan. It was a normal plan. No bowler had the intention to bowl a wide ball. We tried to play a proper game. It was not intentional,” Shanto told the media here on Thursday.

Shanto rued the fact that two of their batters — openers Tanzid Hasan (53) and Litton Das (66) — failed to notch up big scores after getting their respective fifties.

“We have had big runs before, but I think we are not taking the responsibility,” he said.

“I would say, for those who are getting set here, if Litton or Tanzid could have played 120-130 run innings, it would have been easier for Mushi (Mushfiqur Rahim), (Towhid) Hridoy, or (Mahmudullah) Riyad. The middle-order didn't bat well, as well as those who were set (and) couldn't make runs,” he said.

Shanto, who led the team in absence of regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan after he was sidelined with a quad injury, defended the team's preparations against the rampant Indian team.

“The