Another meek surrender by the Bangladeshi batsmen to versatile Pakistan bowling attack in the first one-dayer of the three-match series simply compelled home team skipper Mushfiqur Rahim to bring up the same old question regarding Bangladesh’s progress in the highest level of the game.
Following Bangladesh’s dismissal below hundred runs and Pakistan top order batsmen’s struggle in chase of the paltry target, questions were raised about whether the pitch was ideal for over-limit cricket and a bamboozled Mushfiqur also expressed his disappointment at the nature of the pitch saying that he still could not understand what “home advantage” meant.
But the home captain however had more important issues to address after yet another poor batting show and he didn’t hesitate to say: “We can hardly claim that we have improved much and that’s why we cannot say that there is any difference between old Bangladesh and new Bangladesh. I think we are probably taking one step forward and going two back.” It can be mentioned that Bangladesh have been dismissed below hundred three times this year.
Rather than blaming only the pitch the wicketkeeper-batsman identified lack of application as the main problem behind the Tigers’ inconsistent batting in international cricket and he also confessed that there is a difference between the teams in the skill level. “So we have to work on it,” said Mushfiqur.
The Bangladesh captain’s sentiment was that batting was tough against this kind of a bowling attack on such a bowling-friendly pitch but it never justified their score of 91 in 30.3 overs. Man-of-the-match Shahid Afridi, who wrecked the Bangladeshi batting by taking five wickets, also said that the conditions were perfect for the spinners but still batting was not too difficult.
“It’s [the pitch] not that difficult. If the batsmen want they can survive. You can take singles, rotate the strike and play yourself in. Maybe because of T20 cricket now batsmen don’t have the temperament,” observed the exciting all-rounder.
There has already been a lot of discussion about the strength of the Pakistani bowling attack and it’s proved in the last two games that Bangladeshi batsmen have been struggling with this fear factor and that’s why Mushfiqur called his batsmen to play with a bit more guts and determination.
“We need to work on our basics and try and hit the ball into the gaps. I had a chat with the rest of the batsmen after we were all out for 91, so hopefully we can see more application from the batters from the next match onwards,” hoped the little Bogra-lad.
-With The Daily Star input
