Bangladesh’s unlikely heroes step up as race for World Cup spots warmth up
The India-Bangladesh game in Colombo had all of the tell-tale indicators of a typical tour-ending affair for an eradicated group. Bangladesh are recognized for poor performances within the final video games on tour. They made 5 adjustments on this inconsequential recreation. One was a pressured change, however the remaining gave the impression to be the group administration testing their bench energy.
Bangladesh rested their first-choice quick bowlers and gave alternatives to 2 top-order batters who have been warming the bench for many of the event. They additionally handed an ODI debut to pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib. With the World Cup squad but to be introduced, the Asia Cup and the upcoming three-match ODI collection towards New Zealand in Dhaka are necessary for gamers, particularly these on the bench, to make a case for choice.
Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan and Tanzim contributed 87 runs from No 8, 9 and 10. Shakib Al Hasan and Towhid Hridoy struck fifties to get them out of one more top-order collapse however as soon as these two fell, Bangladesh have been observing one other freefall. But the lower-order batters performed a complete of 110 balls, hitting ten fours and two sixes to rescue the group. Nasum saved one finish going along with his career-best 44 whereas Mahedi and Tanzim supplied some fireworks ultimately.
With the ball, the trio accounted for 4 wickets from their mixed 26.5 overs, conceding runs at 4.91 per over. Nasum and Tanzim aren’t recognised allrounders however their cameos got here in helpful as Bangladesh snatched a comfort win on Friday.
“[Beating India] is huge for us to go into the World Cup,” head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe mentioned. “We go with a lot of confidence, especially with what happened in this tournament. We had a really good run up to the Asia Cup but in this tournament, we struggled to put on a collective effort. I am not giving excuses, but we played in different conditions like Kandy, Lahore and Colombo. We had some injuries at crucial times. The pleasing thing for me is the depth of our other players. We could give three guys the opportunity to showcase their talent and what they are capable of, thinking of the World Cup selection. It gives us a really good depth to select the 15 players.”
Hathurusinghe had particular reward for Mahedi who was dropped after Bangladesh’s first recreation within the group stage towards Sri Lanka. Long thought-about a real allrounder, Mahedi nevertheless hasn’t been in a position to nail down a spot within the XI.
“Overall as a cricketer, I was very impressed with his attitude and demeanour on the field. I didn’t see him much before, but he is so confident when he is bowling. He bowled some big overs in this game. He got us back into the game with Shubman Gill’s wicket,” Hathurusinghe mentioned.
Tanzim’s efficiency shocked everybody together with Hathurusinghe who felt the newcomer did his World Cup probabilities a world of fine. “I don’t think he did his chances any harm. He actually put his hands up for the World Cup selection. Until now, we were thinking of trying to proceed without any injuries to our four fast bowlers.
“As you realize Ebadot [Hossain] is not there for the World Cup. I feel (Tanzim) confirmed us what he’s able to. I’m fairly assured that if I needed to depend on him, he has performed nicely for his probabilities,” he said.
Though Bangladesh finished above Pakistan in the Asia Cup, not making the final will still rankle within the team. Hathurusinghe said that there are concerns in the batting department and although Hridoy continues to bat well, he has to take his innings deep.
“(Hridoy) could be very clear about his function in addition to his recreation in the mean time,” he said. “He has been scoring runs since he made his ODI and T20I debut. Actually, I’m a bit dissatisfied with him immediately. He acquired fifty and threw it away. He might have gone on to place in a extra respectable rating. Overall, he understands his function and his recreation.”