Taskin Ahmed made an impressive start with the ball, claiming Zimbabwe's first three wickets and putting the opposition under early pressure. Zimbabwe were struggling at 24 for 3, but recovered strongly to bat through their full 50 overs and set Bangladesh a target of 272.

Bangladesh's chase, however, ended at just 172. With little assistance for the bowlers from the pitch and Zimbabwe's attack failing to create overwhelming pressure, Taskin believes Bangladesh's batting was primarily responsible for the defeat.

Speaking to reporters after the match in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, the Bangladesh fast bowler said the target was very much achievable in the conditions.

“Honestly, considering the kind of pitch we had today, we also bowled on it and could have been punished with just a few mistakes. Against Zimbabwe, 270 was definitely chaseable. They had also put Australia under pressure in their own conditions. But in these conditions, we should have chased it. We simply did not play well,” Taskin said.

Bangladesh failed to build any substantial partnership during the chase. Soumya Sarkar and Tanzid Hasan put together 47 for the opening wicket, which remained Bangladesh's highest partnership. The only other partnership above 30 came for the ninth wicket, when Taskin and Rishad Hossain added 32 runs from 26 balls.

Taskin believes the lack of partnerships was one of the main reasons Bangladesh lost the match.

“Unfortunately, we couldn't build even one partnership. If we had one partnership, we could have got through the game. We often make mistakes in our batting. At least there is some consistency in our bowling. The batters should have won it for us today, but they couldn't,” he said.

Taskin also urged Bangladesh's batters to improve their ability to handle pressure. According to him, the players have enough batting skill, but they need to become better at reading match situations and making the right decisions under pressure.

“The gap is mainly in understanding the match situation. Everyone has the skill. Those who watch cricket know that every one of our batters has proved they can bat well. But sometimes, as a team, when we come under pressure, we collapse very quickly. We have to get out of this habit. If we want to become a big team, we have to overcome it somehow. I'm sure we're all working together on how to fix it quickly,” Taskin said.

Despite the defeat, Taskin believes Bangladesh still have a chance to recover. With one match remaining, the team will look to bounce back and keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.

“We still have one match left. We will try to fight properly, come back strongly and hopefully play in the final,” he said.

Taskin's early success with the ball ultimately went unrewarded as Bangladesh failed to capitalize on Zimbabwe's difficult start. After losing three wickets for 24 runs, Zimbabwe recovered to post 271 for 9, setting Bangladesh a target of 272. Bangladesh were then bowled out for 172, with the inability to build partnerships and handle pressure proving decisive.