ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s white-ball Head Coach Mike Hesson recently slammed the pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium as “unacceptable” after his team succumbed to a seven-wicket defeat against hosts Bangladesh on Sunday. 

After what looked to be a promising start by aggressive opening batters Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub, Pakistan slipped to 46 for 5 by the eighth over, with most of their batters falling while going for big shots.

The green shirts also collapsed due to three run-outs, eventually being bowled out for a modest 110 runs in 19.3 overs. 

“I think (the pitch) is not ideal for anybody,” Hesson said at the post-match conference on Sunday. “Teams are trying to prepare for the Asia Cup or the (T20) World Cup. It is not acceptable.”

The Pakistani coach conceded there was “no excuse” for some of the decisions the green shirts made with the bat but quickly added that the pitch “is not up to international standards.”

“We chose some poor options. When the ball started to nip through, and bounced steeply, we probably didn’t assess that it was a bit more challenging to play high-risk shots,” Hesson said.

“Couple of run-outs also didn’t help.”

Bangladesh batter Parvez Hossain Emon, who smashed an unbeaten 56 from 39 balls to lead his team to a win, disagreed with Hesson. 

“We didn’t feel (it was a bad pitch) as we chased it down in less than 16 overs,” he said. “We could have scored 150-160 runs if we batted the full 20 overs. It may be so that they couldn’t adjust to the pitch. We adjusted better than them.”

Hesson, however, said that when a team isn’t sure whether 130 or 150 is a good enough target, then that pitch isn’t an impressive one.

“I don’t think (the pitch) is good for anybody,” he said. 

Pakistan next play Bangladesh in the second T20I match of the three-match series on July 22. Pakistan defeated Bangladesh 3-0 in a home T20I series in May this year.