ICC T20 World Cup 2016
Australia Vs Bangladesh Played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on 21 March 2016
Australia 157/7 (Mahmudullah Riyad 49*, Shakib Al Hasan 33, Mohammad Mithun 23, A Zampa 3/23) beat Bangladesh 156/5 (UT Khawaja 58, GJ Maxwell 26, Shakib Al Hasan 3/23, Mustafizur Rahman 2/30) by 3 wickets

DHAKA: Poor fielding, missed catches and missed chances of run outs combined with the shocks of losing three key players for different reasons caused Bangladesh losing the do or die group match against strong Australia by three wickets.

Captain Mashrafe made some tactical errors in using his bowling resources and setting fielding. All these combined to a Bangladesh defeat by three wickets and almost knocked out Bangladesh from the tournament. In the group of death, Bangladesh has to win against India and New Zealand by large margins to have an opportunity to get through to semi-final. Chance for that is very remote.

Losing the toss and sent in to bat Bangladesh could score 156/6 which on an easy paced wicket was 20 runs too little. Australia huffed and puffed in getting across. The required 18.3 overs to overhaul Bangladesh set target scoring 157/7 and winning by three wickets.

Bangladesh had their opportunities. At least two catches went down, few runs were given away through poor fielding. Captain Mashrafe made some tactical errors in batting order, field setting and bowlers reshuffling. His body language surprisingly was not the same what all known him to be. Team like Bangladesh cannot expect winning a match against a premiere opposition when all these happen in the same match.

Why tried and tested Nasir Hossain was ignored? Is he sick or injured? How can Shubhagata Hom be better than him? Not only that, Hom was sent in to bat above inform Mahmudullah Riyad and Majestic Mushfique. One can curse the decision. If sent earlier Mahmudullah in pristine form and reliable Mushfique could add another 15-20 runs. 175 -180 could have been the winning score.

Bangladesh was forced to make three changes. Taskin and Arafat were unavailable for the suspension order by ICC. Their replacements Subhagata Hom and Saqlain Sajib were drafted into playing eleven straight away. Ace opener and the highest scorer of current tournament Tamim reported sick and Bangladesh had to play without him. Not hundred percent Mustafiz was brought in.

Bangladesh struggled with the bat early on. Soumya again proved that his footwork needs improvement for success at this level. He left early. Sabbir and Mithun struggled a bit in connecting. Still they played few aggressive strokes. But both failed to judge the swing bowling of Shane Watson and got out. Mithun stayed for a while and when he appeared set was lured by leg spinner Zampa. At 3/62 with Shakib looking great Bangladesh should have sent inform quality batsman Mahmudullah instead of trying with Shubhagata Hom.

By the time Riyad and Mushfique could get into the act it was too late to set winning target. Zampa is not a Shane Warne. Yet Bangladeshi batsmen fell to him. Riyad and Mushfique batted true to their reputations. The pair in unbeaten partnership added 51 runs in 28 deliveries setting a challenging target of 157 for Australia.

Riyad scored 49 in 29 deliveries with seven 4’s and a 6, Mushfique remained with him till the end scoring 15 off 11. Shakib was looking at his best in his 25 balls 33. If batting order was well thought off Bangladesh score could reach 170-180. That could test Australia in the chase. Zampa with 3/23 was the most successful Aussie bowler.

Bangladesh could still fight if their shoulders were not dropping early on. Usman Khawaja batted superbly. Watson used all his experience of IPL. Aussies appeared to be cruising till brilliant throw from Sabbir found Watson short of his ground. Australia was on 62 by then.

Watson was dropped by Mithun early on off the bowling of Mustafiz. Captain Smith came in. He was cleaned up by Mustafiz with his cutter. Shakib joined the act removing Warner and Maxwell. In between Al-Amin and Mustafiz accounted for Khawaja and Marsh. Suddenly, Bangladesh was looking competitive. But for reasons best known to Mashrafe, Al-Amin was not given bowl to fill his quota. Instead, he persisted with debutant Saqlain. Field setting was not perfect. He should have attacked. His own body language was not positive. There were few fielding lapses, some throws were not on target. Australia was let off the hook.

Australia is far better side than Bangladesh. But Bangladesh had their chances. These were not taken. Ignoring Nasir is now a crime. Favoring Hom in batting order was also a mistake. Mashrafe was bitterly and rightly criticized by Sunil Gavaskar for poor handling of his resources on the day.

We cannot say Australians bowled and batted much better than Bangladesh. Only Khawaja was head and shoulder above the rest. Zampa is not a bowler to trouble Bangladesh batsmen. Yet he did. Bangladesh fielding and bowling was not like beating a top team. Finally, Bangladesh set target was 20 runs too little on an easy paced wicket.

With two defeats Bangladesh is almost knocked out of the tournament. The remaining two matches are against India and group leader New Zealand. Mustafiz on his return looked to possess all his tricks. He fooled Smith and Marsh. Shakib is back in his brilliant all-round best. Tamim was missed on the day. Mashrafe must act like seasoned professional which he is. We are not sure why handled his resources poorly on the day. Was he controlled remotely from the dugout?

BDST: 0940 HRS, MAR 22, 2016
SR