Wake-up call as Tigers lose Champions Trophy warm-up against Pakistan Shaheens
Bangladesh received a last-minute wake-up call ahead of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy after their batting fell apart and led to a seven-wicket loss in their lone warm-up match against Pakistan Shaheens at the Dubai Cricket Stadium on Monday.
The Tigers lack in match practice in the 50-over format heading into the tournament as they have not played an ODI in the last two months and are coming straight from the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), which was followed by a few training sessions and some match scenario practice in Mirpur and Dubai.
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The last time the Tigers played in a 50-over contest was in early December against West Indies in the Caribbean where they suffered a 3-0 drubbing. And going by the scorecard of the first innings of the warm-up game, which was not aired live on television or in any digital platform, it seems not much has changed in terms of performance.
If all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz finishing as the highest scorer with 44 off 53 balls raised some eyebrows, number nine Tanzim Hasan Sakib contributing 30 off 27 balls out of the team's total of 202 was proof of how dismal they were as a batting group against the Shaheens attack.
Among the recognised batters, only Soumya Sarkar had a notable contribution of 35 off 38 balls while Tanzid Hasan Tamim (six), Najmul Hossain Shanto (12), Towhid Hridoy (20), Mushfiqur Rahim (seven) and Jaker Ali Anik (four) could hardly make an impact which led to the Tigers getting folded within 38.2 overs after opting to bat first. Shaheens then chased down the target in 34.5 overs, courtesy of half-centuries from Mohammad Haaris (76) and Mubashir Khan (63 not out).
Many of the Bangladesh team batters had an underwhelming BPL and their performance in the warm-up game certainly will not boost their confidence.
Another worrying sign is that the team collapsed from 119-3 to 137-7 – a continuation of the batting collapse problem which has been plaguing the team for some time.
Although Bangladesh had the option to test all of their batters in the match due to it being an unofficial contest, two of their recognised batters Mahmudullah and Parvez Hossain Emon did not bat.
Bangladeshi batters' vulnerability against leg-spin also got exposed in this contest as Pakistani leg-spinner Usama Mir, who has represented his country in 12 ODIs and five T20Is, finished with four scalps which included the wickets of Miraz, Hridoy, Mushfiqur and Jaker while another wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem also chipped in with one wicket.
Bangladesh batters will get just two days to analyse their mistakes before they face India, who possess the most potent spin attack in the tournament, in their first Group A match on February 20.
The Tigers will then travel to Rawalpindi for their remaining two Group A matches against New Zealand and Pakistan on February 24 and 27 respectively.
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