Asia Cup: Bangladesh's Saif Hassan slams his 3rd T20I fifty
What's the story
In a shocking display of fielding ineptitude, the Indian cricket team dropped Bangladesh opener Saif Hassan four times during their Men's T20 Asia Cup Super Four clash in Dubai. The blunders came from all-rounder Shivam Dube, wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, fielder Abhishek Sharma, and Axar Patel, who missed a caught-and-bowled chance. Hassan went on to score a fine 69 for Bangladesh. Despite his heroics, India beat Bangladesh by 41 runs.
Missed opportunities
Four dropped catches in 12 balls
As per Cricbuzz, this is now India's worst performance in T20Is against a single player. Axar Patel missed a caught-and-bowled opportunity against Hassan in the 12th over of the match. In the 16th over, Dube dropped a simple catch in the deep off Varun Chakravarthy's bowling. Shortly after, Samson misjudged a routine catch off Varun's bowling in the same over. In the 17th over, Hassan was dropped by Abhishek. The former finally got out in the 18th over.
Persistent problems
India's woes highlighted as Hassan manages 69
The missed chances against Hassan are a continuation of India's fielding woes in the ongoing 2025 Asia Cup. These errors have been a major concern for the team throughout the tournament. Despite these blunders, Hassan was finally dismissed on the second ball of the 18th over by Patel's brilliant catch on the long-on boundary. He scored an impressive 69 runs off 51 balls before his dismissal. His knock had three fours and five sixes.
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3rd T20I fifty for Hassan
In 81 T20s, the batter now owns 1,681 runs at an average of 24.01. This was his 11th T20 fifty. 260 of his T20 runs have come for Bangladesh in T20Is at an average of 32.50 (50s: 3).