Lions floor miserable Tigers

The Tigers turned up at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the first time to make a statement against the Lankan Lions yesterday. The mood in the Bangladesh camp ahead of the World Cup fixture was that it could be a stage where the Tigers would look to prey on the Lions.

But after a nearly eight-hour bout it was the Tigers who were immediately taken to the treatment table with serious injuries after being subjected to severe assault from two Lankan lions -- Tilakaratne Dilshn ( 161) and Kumar Sangakkara (105). The left-right combination produced an imperious 212 runs for the unbroken second wicket in an imposing Sri Lanka total of 332-1.

On a day when World Cup debutant Afghanistan created small piece of history by defeating fellow associate member Scotland by one wicket in a thriller, nothing went right for the Tigers. A 92-run defeat after a win and a draw suggested that Bangladesh has hardly made an impression as an up and coming side despite scoring 240 before being all out with three overs to spare.

The crux of Bangladesh's problem was not that they failed to contain the Lankans from scoring a massive total, which was a case in the other two game played here before. And even the margin of defeat can be called decent if compared to that of England's against Australia and South Africa's against India.

It was the athleticism, or the lack of it, that has once again nakedly exposed a Bangladesh side that has not only dropped three catches, but showed its impotence in ground fielding. A statistic on display during the game showed that Bangladesh are the second worst fielding side in the tournament after Pakistan.

After Anamul Haque dropped Lahiru Thirimanee at the slip in the very first over, a Sri Lankan journalist jokingly quipped that Bangladesh actually wanted to avoid Sangakkara.

That might be an understatement of the fact that both Anamul and Mahmudullah, who juggled before taking tumbling catches against Afghanistan the other day, have not learnt the art of taking those sharp catches at slip.

Thirimanne needed another reprieve this time from wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, who missed a simple stumping chance, on his way to 52.

One can still live with dropping Thirimanne but you can't drop a master batsman like Sangakkara, who slashed straight to point while on 60. But Mominul Haque dropped that sitter.

The Lankans also dropped a couple of catches but they showed a lot of energy on the field. Fielding is an area any average team can be good at to possibly make up for even an ordinary bowling attack. Unfortunately, Bangladesh have never excelled in that important area.

And the way the Tigers fielded raised questions about what kind of special drills they have had at home before the World Cup under the guidance of a support staff dominated by the Lankans.

In order to win such a big match gathering early momentum was a must, especially for a team like Bangladesh, but Anamul Haque's gaffe set the stage for a disaster.

It was a special moment for Sangakkara when he reached his 22nd ODI hundred in the final over of his 400th ODI. But he must also thank Taskin Ahmed, who failed to hold a tough return catch when the batsman was on 23.

On a pitch that hardly offered anything to the bowlers, the sloppy fielding made putting any pressure on Dilshan and Sangakkara more difficult, who made merry with the bowlers except Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who was immaculate with his line and length. Young paceman Taskin Ahmed has learnt the difficulty of bowling to top-class batsmen the hard way, conceding 82 runs in his ten overs.

Bangladesh's chase of a mammoth total never took off after Lasith Malinga knocked Tamim Iqbal's off stumps with the second ball of the innings. Young left-hander Soumya Sarker entertained the crowd briefly and then there was a partnership between Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim followed by an enterprising innings from Sabbir Rahman. But those performances were only meant to reduce the margin of defeat.