Tigers want their soul back
Bangladesh's defeats in the two T20 Interna-tionals against South Africa or to some extent in the third one-dayer in the preceding series against India grossly summed up the batting failure of the Tigers.
Against India the Tigers may have felt a 300-plus score was too tough to chase down. But considering the wicket in that third ODI and the strength of the opponents' bowling attack, which was less glamorous than that of Pakistan's, it was expected that the Tigers' batting should have fared better than what it actually did.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Against the Proteas they were up against 149 and 170 respectively in the two T20Is on a slightly different wicket, where the spinners got good purchases. It is true that the South African bowling attack has got more variation and bite, but the impressive Tigers' batting line-up, which has got two good openers in Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar followed by a solid middle-order in Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan and two good finishers in the likes of Sabbir Rahman and Nasir Hossain, was supposed to act more professionally to extend a fantastic home run.
SERIES FACTS * Bangladesh need to win at least one match to secure their 2017 ICC Champions Trophy berth * Bangladesh have won just one ODI in their 14 encounters against South Africa * Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza are both eyeing the 200-wicket mark in ODIs -- needing 2 and 4 wickets respectively to get there * All the new ODI rules will be enforced for the first time today, with the no-ball rule already implemented in the T20Is * Of both squads, Hashim Amla has the most runs in Bangladesh-South Africa matches -- 251 * Imran Tahir was the joint-highest wicket-taker, 12 in 5 games, in the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh |
But a team that had a magnificent World Cup down under and followed it up with a seamless batting performance in a 3-0 Pakistan whitewash, where they had one 300-plus score and chased down two 240-plus totals with more than ten overs to spare, suddenly went off track.
There are a few good reasons as to why an eloquent batting unit is falling apart. The general notion is that the Tigers refuse to change a gear or two depending on match situations, leading to their own downfall. In both the T20I games they were in a mad rush and lacked the necessary discipline.
But the crux of the problem has so far been a misfiring Mushfiqur. The little right-hander was the vital cog in the middle in Bangladesh's success story in the World Cup. He was in fabulous form against Pakistan, against whom he struck 106, 65 and an unbeaten 49.
But ever since he injured his finger during the first Test against Pakistan, he has been a picture of struggle. His records after that depict a dismal figure -- 14, 31 and 24 in three ODIs against India and struggling 17 and 19 against the Proteas.
Mushfiqur is the nucleus in Bangladesh's batting. The Tigers might have won the ODI series against India 2-1, but the fact is that the batting was not up to the mark in that series.
He is now going through bad times and it was evident in the last game where he deposited a full toss straight to the man at cover.
If the Tigers are to rediscover their batting fluency, they need this pocket dynamo to regain his belligerent self.
Dashing opener Tamim is the other batsman who needs to revisit his recent style of play. His effort of late, it appears, is to match a fluent Soumya shot by shot. But Tamim should do what he knows best and we believe it will do a world of good for a batsman who struck a double hundred not a long ago.
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