It will give a big boost to the sagging morale of Bangladesh team if it can win the championship of Tri nation T20 series on Tuesday at SBNCS Dhaka. For that to happen they have to repeat its performance or better what they did in the last group match at Chattogram. In recent times Bangladesh was winning no matches against blooming Afghanistan. However in the last match Shakib inspired Bangladesh managed to turn the tide and recorded the first win in T20 international against Afghanistan over the last 5 matches by 4 wickets. However, it was a match of little consequence as two teams qualified for the final before that match though Afghanistan lost the previous match against Zimbabwe. But win is always a win. Bangladesh was desperately seeking for that. Definitely that win has given morale boost for Bangladesh. Now they can plan much better their strategy for the final.
If we look back in retrospect Bangladesh batting is not going to plan in any format since the CWC 2019. Apart from Shakib and Mushfique none showed any consistency. Even otherwise very consistent Tamim Iqbal was a shadow of his past. Mahmudullah also struggled finding his feet. None of the younger players could even justify their inclusion in the team as batsman. CWC 2019 was followed by a disastrous Sri Lanka tour. Bangladesh got white washed. The absence of Shakib skipping the series was strongly felt. Bangladesh batted, bowled and fielded well below its own standard. After that tour Tamim also wanted to take rest for regaining his mental make up. Opportunity emerged for new players for performing.
The only test against rookie Afghanistan presented golden opportunity for Bangladesh regrouping and finding the feet Unfortunately Bangladesh played extremely poorly being blown again by Afghanistan. Till writing this report in four matches Bangladesh played in Tri nation T20 series involving Afghanistan and Zimabawe, Bangladesh still could not recover its form that made them almost unbeatable at home. Somehow or other they were messing up in matches against Afghanistan. Hope the last win would melt the ice.
The genuine issue is with the openers opening the innings for Bangladesh. The huge investment made on Soumya and Liton now appears to have been gone down the drain. They are not at all consistent in any format. Soumya has been dropped already. Liton is also not looking good. Nazmul Hossain Shanto given opportunity in the last two matches also failed. BCB included a young opener Sheikh Naeem. We are not sure whether it will worth taking risk with him in the final as we understand Shanto is not worth of a place in the shortest version of the game. Shakib finding his form in the last match is a great relief. He is a match winner. Him in form and leading the team from the front always create opportunity for winning. Mushfique for a while appear restless. He either goes without scoring much or when batting aggressively he throws away his wicket. He needs curbing away his too much adventurous instinct a bit. Mahmudullah is slowly getting back into his stride. Affif and Mosaddeq are getting matured and look good for the future. Sabbir does not fit well in the present state of the team. Rather all rounder Saifuddin should bat higher. If Aminul is match fit Sabbir must be replaced or Taijul must be brought back. Bangladesh must play with 5 genuine bowlers.
In the bowling department Saifuddin, Shafiul and Mustafiz are performing their job. Saifuddin appears to have gained additional skills from the new bowling coach. Shafiul is bowling consistently in the right channel. Mustafiz is living up to his reputation of a great exponent of changing the pace. Shakib apart from a 30 runs over against Zimbabwe is in his element. Aminul and Affif did the job in one match each. It will be a huge boost if Affif and Aminul can bowl in tandem.
Afghanistan on the other hand appears a bit tired reaching the end of a long tour. They were flying high winning the test against Bangladesh comfortably. They also won the first leg matches in SBNCS Dhaka comfortably. But loosing two matches on the trot against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh they look vulnerable. Moreover, their ace bowler Captain Rashid Khan is not sure of playing in the final for a niggle he sustained in the last match. Yet they have enough depth and diversity in their team to make the final a tight contest.
Bangladesh needs another win. The next assignment of Bangladesh is against strong India in India. Bangladesh would get some time to regrouping and planning. Bangladesh A team is touring Sri Lanka and Under 23 team is in India. Hope there will some players getting confidence in matches to represent Bangladesh better in future.
It will be a huge boost to Bangladesh if they can stay put and win tomorrow against Afghanistan and win the trophy. Hope the opening and top order batting issues would be effectively taken care.
My suggested team would be -
Liton K Das , Sheikh Naeem , Shakib Al Hasan , Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riad , Affif Hossain , Mosaddeq Hossain,Mohammad Saifuddin Taijul Islam / Aminul , Shafiul Islam and Mustafizur Rahman
BDST: 1119 HRS, SEP 23, 2019
SMS
