Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan on Wednesday said dropping guard after a good first hour was one of the reasons behind their crushing 10-wicket defeat in the second Test against India apart from the brilliance of paceman Zaheer Khan.
Bangladesh were going great guns at one stage but suffered a dramatic batting collapse as they lost their last seven wickets for a mere 22 runs and went on to lose the match as well as the series.
Shakib conceded they made the mistake of taking the game lightly when Mohammad Ashraful and Shahadat Hossain were batting splendidly.
"When Shahadat and Ashraful were batting we got slightly relaxed. We were laughing in the dressing room and at some point of time we got relaxed, not thinking about the game.
"We should have thought that the wicket would get tougher. We just could not cope with the situation," he said.
"It was still a good batting track. We just did not apply ourselves. The old ball was reverse swinging but we should have negotiated it. But Zaheer Khan bowled really well and all credit to him," he added.
Asked whether they were under pressure playing against the top side in Test cricket, Shakib said, "Of course, there was pressure. They are the World No 1 side. We can learn so many things from them."
The Bangladesh skipper said there were a lot of things they need to learn from the Indian team.
"We did well in our bowling but not that much on batting. The way Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid formed a partnership that was something we should learn from them. We need to build partnerships, whether in batting or bowling," Shakib said.
Shakib also said that Zaheer Khan was a much better bowler in Test cricket.
"He (Zaheer) is an experienced bowler. He is a much different bowler in Test cricket than in One-dayers. He puts the ball in the right areas. He swings the new ball early on and then gets the reverse swing when it is old. It was difficult for us to face him," the home team captain said.
Shakib was also candid enough to admit that his side was not strong mentally to counter strong teams like India.
"But it was all about mindset. There was something wrong with our mindset," he lamented.
