Once the charge of the light brigade starts and one army makes a wrong move it gets extremely difficult to recover and regain the initiative. Exactly that is the situation of Bangladesh after losing their first match unexpectedly against associate member Scotland. Now Bangladesh not only have to win but have to win big making sure that they stay above Scotland and Oman in run rates. In the event Oman manages to win against Scotland say after losing to Bangladesh their points would also be 4. Scotland let us say would beat Papua New Guinea today. Oman beat Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets in the first match.
Some quarters expressed apprehension after Bangladesh lost two preparation matches on the trot against Sri Lanka and Ireland. It does not need an Albert Einstein to tell you that Bangladesh is among the least prepared teams of the tournament. Playing on low, slow, gripping and turning tracks of SBNCS did not give them right preparation. Rather trapping weaker teams of stronger countries on wickets unaccustomed for them gave false confidence. Own players did not have good batting practice. That was reflected from poor batting in the preparation matches and in the match against Scotland. Bangladesh has not gone to ICC World Cup with a team high in confidence though they won back-to-back three series. Openers were not at all among runs, Mushfique struggled with form, there is not much batting options. In a global tournament Bangladesh went with seven rookies while all teams are stuffed with experienced T20 specialists. World Cup is not for fancy, not for experiment.
Looking back in retrospect let us see what went wrong in the first match? Why Naim was not in the playing eleven? Did not perform any worse than Liton and Soumya? On a slow, gripping wicket assisting the spinners why the recent best spinning option Nasum was not in the side? The selection of Taskin boomeranged. Against an underdog winning the toss and posting a big score should be the way to go. Especially when Bangladesh is not batting well Mahmudullah did not do it right opting to chase. Let us forget that after Mahedi and Shakib pegged the Scots back taking 6 wickets for 53 how could Bangladesh relaxed its grip on the match? Why Riad did not attack and wrap up the innings? Soumya could be given few overs. Taskin is not a smart bowler for T20. He leaks runs at every 3rd and 4th ball in his overs. It is here Nasum was sadly missed. I am sure Nasum would be there today. But it may so happen that he does not fire.
It is easy to blame the players but it is the players who have to bounce back. Bangladesh should have chased not too steep target. But, the momentum was with Scotland. Soumyo and Liton played horribly poorly. Shakib and Mushfique struggled to come term, played too many dot balls. It did not matter they stayed longer but when they got out and the manner, they got out created bleeding in the team. Mahmudullah looked completely out of touch. Bangladesh batsmen tried to whack and got out in the boundary line. Panic set in. With as many as 9 batsmen including Saifuddin and Mahedi it was really sad that Bangladesh fell short of the target.
Well Bangladesh has dug hole for them. They have to execute a plan clinically today and their next match. There is no other option. A very complex equation needs solving. Hope they do. They have resources for doing. Only need the right mindset.
My Suggested Team Today:
Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Afif Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riad, Nurul Hasan, Mahedy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.
BDST: 1224 HRS, OCT 19, 2021
SMS
