Tigers fail to pounce again

There's no point in head scratching or pondering on ways to turn back time, it's done. Bangladesh have exited the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and boarded their flight back home from England yesterday. However, on their way back, there still may be a few things lingering at the back of their minds. Perhaps such thoughts could lead to imaginary scenarios where the 'what ifs' make the difference between what was and what could have been. Just what if…

Mushy had been a little patient

What are the must-do things while defending a below-par 244, that too against a compact New Zealand side at the biggest stage -- a World Cup game? Well, the message from the pavilion would have been to grab every chance you get. If not literally, grabbing opportunities on the ground become easier when you are wearing a pair of gloves. Creating an opportunity, even a tiny error of judgement from the opposition is induced by a series of small endeavours while in pursuit of your aim. But when the moment comes, you need to wait and make the right call and time it to perfection. Maybe Mushfiqur Rahim -- the man with the gloves behind the stumps for the Tigers -- succumbed to euphoria while thinking about the result and had not been concentrating on the process that needs to be done in order to get a desired outcome when he tried to grab the ball early in an attempt to have Kane Williamson run-out in the 12th over. Mushfiqur knocked the bails off with his arm before grabbing the ball and the Kiwi skipper -- batting on eight at that time -- who was nowhere near the crease, had eventually made his ground and survived, courtesy of that error. Williamson, who was finally dismissed on 40 in the 32nd over, went on to string together a 105-run third-wicket stand with Ross Taylor in a game that the Tigers lost by just two wickets.

GOD LET THE SUN SHINE!

The persistent drizzle at the Country Ground in Bristol on June 11 might not have had a huge impact on the lifestyle of the city's inhabitants but it did mar Bangladesh's chalked out plan or intended route to the semifinal of the World Cup. Going into the World Cup, Bangladesh were expected to beat the likes of Afghanistan, West Indies -- which they did eventually -- and Sri Lanka. And when Bangladesh started their campaign with an unexpected yet well-deserved 21-run victory over South Africa, the Tigers had just made their chances brighter, needing to do the regulation work from then on and a few surprise wins over the powerhouses of cricket to pave their way to a maiden World Cup semifinal. However, it all depended on that game against Sri Lanka -- a side that are one place lower in ICC ODI rankings than Bangladesh -- where the Tigers were clearly the favourites. Unfortunately, the Tigers were kept waiting, maybe with hopes of the rain to stop in Bristol, till the official announcement of the match being abandoned was made, forcing the Tigers to remain content with one point from the inexperienced Sri Lankan side.

SABBIR IMPACTED THE RIGHT TEAM

The team management was probably right on money to give Sabbir Rahman the nod ahead of Mosaddek Hossain for the game against Australia on June 20 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, given Sabbir's reputation and proven ability of playing pace well and better than most in the Tigers' XI. But little did they know that Sabbir's impact in the game would see Australia opener David Warner's bat shine instead of Sabbir himself. Often the destructive Warner does not provide his opposition with any chances but Bangladesh were probably lucky to have been presented with two chances by the left-hander which were both relinquished in the same game. The first opportunity came as early as the fifth over, when Warner went on his back foot to cut a Mashrafe Bin Mortaza delivery towards backward point only to see a perfectly positioned Sabbir going low to his right with both hands and spilling the ball onto the ground. Warner, on just 10, breathed a sigh of relief. By the time the next opportunity came, Warner had inflicted just the right amount of pain as expected after being handed a life early on, as the 32-year old was then batting on 70 in the 26th over. A slight mix-up between him and Usman Khawaja saw Warner run a quarter way to other end but he soon realised that he had to sprint back. A fumble by the same culprit, Sabbir, at mid-on allowed Warner to reach home safely. And this time Warner would stop only after hitting a 147-ball 166 in a game where the Tigers lost by 48 runs and were left wondering what could have happened had they restricted Australia to 30 or 40 runs less than their mammoth 381 for five.

TAMIM HAD NOT DONE THAT

Tamim Iqbal usually takes these types of catches nine times out of ten during fielding drills at practice sessions. But the one time he would miss the catch was unfortunately during Bangladesh's must-win game against India on July 2 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. This time it was not a call for catch by a fielding coach after hitting the ball in the air with a willow during practice sessions as it was India opener Rohit Sharma who had mistimed an attempted pull shot off Mustafizur Rahman in the fifth over of a high intensity World Cup tie. Tamim, running to his left from deep square leg, covered almost 15 yards and did all the hard work before applying the finishing touch -- catching the ball. But to everyone's surprise he spilled the ball after touching it with the palm of his hand before watching it ricochet off his chest and fall to the ground. Rohit, who was on nine, moved onto 10 after taking a single and survived. But you don't expect a batsman of Rohit's calibre to stop there, right? Shrugging off the heart in hand moment, Rohit kept on inflicting misery on Bangladesh, scoring a magnificent 104 off 92 deliveries. The right-hander was adjudged player-of-the-match in their 28-run victory over the Tigers. 

THERE WAS A CLONE OF SHAKIB?

While wondering about what could have happened for Bangladesh in the ongoing World Cup, imagining something totally absurd would not do much harm. The Tigers are out of the World Cup but one particular Tiger from the squad still remains in the mega event. Bangladesh's ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is well in contention for the player-of-tournament award after his excellent World Cup campaign. The prestigious award would certainly be at the top of Shakib's personal achievement's shelf and it would not be a surprise to see him add the trophy to his other accolades. Playing in eight matches, Shakib has scored fifty or more in seven of them -- with a score of 41 against Australia being the only anomaly. The all-rounder scored back-to-back hundreds in this World Cup and also smashed five fifties. Shakib, who finished with 606 runs, became only the third player ever after Sachin Tendulkar and Matthew Hayden to have scored 600 runs in one edition of the World Cup. While Sachin and Hayden did not part-take with the ball, Shakib has also scalped 11 wickets in the mega event to see him ahead of anyone else in the race to be adjudged the player-of-the-tournament. Maybe now the team management will be left pondering on ways to get a clone of Shakib to further bolster the side.

Bangladesh speedster Taskin Ahmed made an instant impact on his return to Test cricket after 14 months as he came up with a sensational bowling performance on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi yesterday. 

Taskin finished with 3-57, helping his side bowl out the hosts for 274 runs in their first innings within a day after the game finally started on the Day 2 after the opening day's play got washed out.

Taskin had taken a break from the longer-format earlier this year citing injury issues but after the end of the last ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, he changed his mind and made himself available for selection for the Pakistan Test series.

The selection panel also showed faith on the experienced pacer as they picked him for the second Test squad but before that, they wanted to see how Taskin fared in the longer-version.

And for that, they played him in the second four-day match against Pakistan Shaheens where he bowled 15 overs and also dismissed Imam-ul-Haq in the first ball of his opening spell.

Similarly, the 29-year-old, who previously played 13 Tests since his debut in this format in 2017, tasted success almost immediately, going through the defences of Pakistani opener Abdullah Shafique with a splendid in-swinger in the last ball of the first over of the game after Bangladesh chose to field first.

Taskin, who came in as a replacement for the injured Shoriful Islam, set up Shafique brilliantly as he bowled his first five deliveries outside off, moving away from the batter, before finally pitching the ball on a good length and bringing it back sharply into the batter, hitting the top of off-stump.

"That wicket [Shafique's] was really enjoyable for me. First, I set him up with away moving ones and then in the last one I brought it back into him. That was intentional," Taskin told the reporters in the press meet after the end of the second day's play.

Taskin didn't get any more successes in his first spell where he bowled four overs but kept the pressure on Shan Masood and Saim Ayub, who went on to score fifties, and when he came back to bowl his next two spells, he carried on from where he had left off.

At one time, Saud Shakeel, the middle-order batter who scored a hundred in the opening Test, hit him for back-to-back boundaries. But Taskin had the last laugh, as he knocked over Shakeel's stumps in the same over to send him back to the pavilion.

Bangladesh kept taking wickets at regular intervals from the second session onwards. With Pakistan quickly running out of wickets, Salman Agha, the No.7 batter, decided to try and hit some boundaries against the second new ball and smashed Taskin for two sixes in consecutive overs.

Taskin, however, kept baiting Salman, who made 54, into going for big shots and eventually his plan worked as the batter mishit a pull shot and got caught at fine leg by Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz soon wrapped up the innings by completing his 10th five-for in Tests.

"Overall, our bowling unit has done really well. We could have done better. I'm working on everything, as I have been playing for a long time, to adapt to the format quickly. It's my responsibility as an experienced and senior bowler.

"We have to bat really well. We have to comeback well in the second innings. Nothing is over yet but it was a good day for us which could have been even better."

Pakistan players may be banned from competing in the Indian Premier League but TV footage of the lucrative tournament played a part in the team's opening World Cup win.

Of the 15-man Pakistan squad, only all-rounders Mohammad Nawaz and Agha Salman had ever visited the country before this World Cup.

Nawaz was part of the team which played at the 2016 World Twenty20 while Salman turned out for the Lahore Lions in the 2014 T20 Champions League.

Current captain and star batsman Babar Azam was initially named in the 2016 T20 squad but withdrew with an injury.

"We have come to India for the first time so we don't have much of an idea of playing in India," admitted Saud Shakeel, man of the match as Pakistan defeated the Netherlands in Hyderabad on Friday.

"But we have seen a little bit of the IPL and some matches in Hyderabad so that helped."

Shakeel certainly had few problems adapting to his new surroundings with a fine 68 in the 81-run win which helped Pakistan to victory over the Dutch.

Mohammad Rizwan also made 68 in a 120-run stand after Pakistan were reeling at 38-3 in Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

Pakistan openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-haq fell for 12 and 15 respectively while Azam managed just an 18-ball five.

"The tournament has just started and we are playing in Hyderabad," said Shakeel.

"Everyone knows that the ball stops early on here on this pitch. There are chances of losing a wicket."

Pakistan next face Sri Lanka on Tuesday, also in Hyderabad, before their eagerly-awaited clash against arch-rivals India in Ahmedabad on October 14.

A concert titled "Cholo Bangladesh" has been arranged by Grameenphone in view of the Tigers performing on the biggest stage of the cricket world. The programme will be a musical extravaganza to celebrate the national cricket team's journey to the ICC Cricket World Cup, so far. The event has been scheduled to be held at the Bangladesh Army Stadium on Friday, October 20.

The "Cholo Bangladesh' concert accumulated a spectacular musical gathering of artistes featuring Artcell, Cryptic Fate, Habib Wahid, Nemesis, Pritom Hasan, Rafa and friends, Pantho Kanai, Hasan, Warfaze, amongst many others. The concert is a part of Grameenphone's "Cholo Bangladesh" campaign that aims to unite the Bangladeshi youth with a spirit of national progression.

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This campaign includes various other exciting activities, such as live streaming of the World Cup matches in the MyGP app, limited edition merchandise to celebrate the event, special travel packages, sweets to celebrate and so on.

The registration process for the "Cholo Bangladesh" concert is free and can be done through the MyGP app. The ticket portal opens at 12 am every night and allows only a limited number of registrations that will last till October 19. The event will additionally be aired live on MyGP app and NTV as well.

Bangladesh will take on South Africa in their fifth World Cup fixture at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai today. 

The match will start from 2.30pm.

The following is a statbox on Bangladesh-South Africa encounter:
 
***South Africa hold a significant advantage in matches won against Bangladesh as they have 18 wins to the Tigers' six in 24 meetings.

***In World Cups however, the two sides are at an even 2-2 tie, with Bangladesh handing out the latest blow with a 21-run win in the 2019 edition of the tournament. The Tigers' other win over the Proteas in the tournament came in 2007.

***Bangladesh have lost the only match they've played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, while South Africa have won two and lost three in five outings at the venue.

***Shakib Al Hasan has featured the most number of times in Bangladesh-South Africa encounters, having played in 17 of the 24 matches.

***Amongst active players, Shaib has taken the most wickets against South Africa with 16 scalps at an economy rate of 4.66, while South Africa's Kagiso Rabada tops the charts in Bangladesh-South Africa contests with 19 in 10 matches.

***Shakib also has scored the most runs by a Bangladesh batter against the Proteas as he has amassed 492 runs including five fifties, while South Africa opener Quinton de Kock's 428 runs at a strike-rate of 103.63 against the Tigers stands as the highest amongst active players for the Proteas.

***Najmul Hossain Shanto is 18 runs away from reaching 1000 runs in ODIs.

***Mehedi Hasan Miraz is four wickets short of scalping 100 wickets in the format.