A bewildering four-bowler ploy and the net run-rate worry

After the nail-biting win against Afghanistan, the immediate joy quickly gave way to calculations for Bangladesh. A loss would have meant certain elimination; the win kept the Tigers' hopes alive.

But since nothing is fully in their own hands, there's still a sense of uncertainty among the players. The inside news from the team is that alongside hope, there's also a sense of regret over a few shortcomings.

Afghanistan needed 22 runs in the last over with their final pair at the crease. Bangladesh's victory looked secure by then. But in that over from Taskin Ahmed, Noor Ahmed struck two sixes, reducing the margin of victory to single digit.

As a result, Bangladesh couldn't push their net run-rate into the positive. As Tanzid Hasan Tamim admitted, "If those couple of boundaries hadn't come at the end, it would have been better for us."

The Bangladesh team wanted to keep the margin of victory above 20 runs. At one stage it looked possible. But as the margin slipped into single digit, discomfort set in.

Read more

Nasum stars as Bangladesh edge Afghanistan to stay alive in Asia Cup

Failing to boost the run-rate has now left the equation complicated. If Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka, Litton Das & Co team will be eliminated due to an inferior net run-rate. The missed opportunity of winning by a bigger margin against Hong Kong may also come back into discussion. Tanzid, however, isn't dwelling on regrets for now: "I don't want to regret this. Whatever comes next, we'll think about that."

Still, the sense of regret about not improving the run rate wasn't completely hidden in his words: "We had the chance; it would have been good if we had done it. Even if we didn't, winning the match was more important."

Even in victory against Afghanistan, Bangladesh's team combination raised plenty of questions. To strengthen their batting, Bangladesh went in with one less specialist bowler. That gamble nearly backfired. Part-time spinners Shamim Hossain and Saif Hassan conceded 55 runs in their combined four overs.

Had they played a proper fifth bowler, the win might have been by a much bigger margin. Tanzid, though, left the issue to the management: "The captain and management can explain this better than me. They've bowled well before, they've tried to keep runs down in earlier matches. Maybe today just wasn't their day."

Otherwise, Bangladesh's four frontline bowlers were excellent. Though Taskin conceded some boundaries at the death, his crucial breakthroughs kept the team in the contest. Nasum Ahmed, brought into the XI, was outstanding. Rishad Hossain overcame his inconsistency to prove his worth. Mustafizur Rahman showed once again why he is the king of these conditions. The team believed their bowlers could defend the total: "Our bowling is world-class. With the runs we had, we believed we could defend them."

Tanzid preferred to highlight the collective effort rather than his own role, though he set the tone of the game himself. Shaking off the horror start of the previous match, he batted aggressively, scoring a sparkling 52 off 31 balls.

Even on a tricky wicket, he kept going for the big shots. The left-handed batter explained that he consciously took risks: "I always try to stay positive. I take risks. If the ball is in my zone, I go for boundaries."