Can Tigers escape their own trap?

After falling into the spin trap they had laid themselves in the second ODI, Bangladesh are heading into today's third and final match of the series against the West Indies short of confidence as the visitors have seemingly cracked the code on how to win in the Mirpur turner.
The hosts successfully spun a web around the Caribbean side in the first ODI, winning it by 74 runs, but were surprised by the tourists in the following game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Thursday, losing the bout in the Super Over.
The West Indies bowled an unprecedented 50 overs of spin in that game with three frontline spinners -- Akeal Hosein, Roston Chase and Khary Pierre -- and part-timers Alick Athanaze and Gudakesh Motie completing their quota of overs.
The Tiger batters struggled to rotate the strike against them, evidenced by 193 dots in the innings. Forty seven percent of their runs came from boundaries, while for the West Indies, the number was only 35.6 percent -- a clear indication that the visiting batters fared better with singles and doubles.
West Indies had come prepared for the ambush by spin in Mirpur, having sent some of their players to Chennai prior to the series to train and from the looks of it, the move has paid dividends.
Asked why Bangladesh opted for such spinning turfs which do not allow batters to flourish when better wickets come around, Soumya Sarkar, who made a sluggish 45 off 89 balls on Thursday, revealed it was the management's decision.
"I already said that wicket and weather are not in our hands; they are in the hands of the management. We players don't think about these things. We try to cop up with whatever situation we are given," he said.
It reveals the glitches in planning from Bangladesh's side of things. The team management perhaps felt spin was the chink in West Indies' armor that could be exploited but it did not turn out that way in the second ODI.
So far in the series, the top-order of Saif Hassan, Soumya and Najmul Hossain Shanto has not provided stability, the middle-order has remained adamant to bat only for survival and late flourishes from Rishad Hossain has pushed the total past 200.
There is also criticism on why Rishad, who hit an unbeaten 14-ball 39 in the second game, was not sent in for the Super Over.
Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz also seemingly miscalculated the overs at the death as part-timer Saif Hassan had to bowl the final over even though death over specialist Mustafizur Rahman had two overs left in his quota.
For the hosts, today's match is not just about winning the series, it's also about regaining lost pride after losing the spin battle on Thursday.
In order to bounce back from the defeat, the management has to get their plans right, the skipper must take better calls, and the batters need to figure out a method to churn out risk-free runs. If not, a fifth straight ODI series loss is very much on the cards for the Tigers.
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