Losing wickets very cheaply cost Bangladesh the third and final T20I against India in Nagpur on Sunday said Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah. While chasing a target of 175, Bangladesh were all out for 144 despite being 110/2 in the 13th over and looking too dangerous in the middle.

“I think we had a chance looking at the way (Mohammad) Naim and (Mohammad) Mithun built a partnership. But we lost wickets rapidly and that cost us the game,” he said. Naim scored 81 off 48 balls and put Bangladesh on the driving seat, sharing a 98-run stand with Mithun (27) for the third wicket.

But Bangladesh lost their way after Deepak Chahar dismissed Mithun was dismissed in the 13th over. Chahar had earlier got two wickets and then took a hat-trick to finish with figures of 6 for 7 — the best ever in men’s T20 Internationals.

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Mahmudullah, however, praised the efforts of the whole team. They have been playing without their two main players – all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and opener Tamim Iqbal. Shakib has been handed over a ban while Tamim has not been featured citing personal matter. The series was earlier tied 1-1 and Bangladesh would have recorded a first-ever series win over India in the T20I format of the game had they pulled off a victory in the final.

“We needed 49 runs in 5 overs… We had a chance, but we missed it. It was good to see the efforts the boys put in. We could not finish well after winning the first game,” he said.

Twenty-year-old Mohammad Naim, who has made his debut for Bangladesh in the series, ended up being the top scorer of the series with a whopping 143 runs in the three matches.

“I think he (Naim) is a very talented batsman. The way he built his innings was very calm and composed. Also, all the three seamers executed their plans and bowled really well in the series,” said Mahmudullah.