soumya sarkar - Dhaka Mirror

Superb Soumya stuns Proteas

Admin — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 10:02:42 +0000

Batsman Soumya Sarkar showed what he is capable of by hammering back-to-back match-winning fifties to help Bangladesh claim their maiden series win over South Africa on Wednesday.
Soumya was accused of not making his solid-looking starts count that had nearly earned him a tag of a player of worth of scoring just 30s and 40s.But Soumya successfully managed to put the criticisms behind him hitting an unbeaten 88 and 90 enabling Bangladesh to accomplish two crushing victories.
His both the innings were treats for the eyes as he made scoring look very easy.
His Wednesday’s 75-ball knock had everything in it as the left-hander punished almost every South African bowler with equal disdain.
Whether it was short or full, pace or spin, Soumya looked to have an answer for everything with his sweet timing that earned him 13 boundaries and a massive six off Morne Morkel.
He was within the sight of his second ODI hundred before a moment of lapse in concentration cost him his wicket.
‘Naturally it’s disappointing not to score a hundred for 10 runs,’ Soumya told reporters after the match in Chittagong.
‘I will always be regretting about it but hope to utilise this kind of chance in future.
‘Definitely it was hard because they are big side but we played better than them and clinched the series,’ added the southpaw.
Soumya said that he was very comfortable batting with Tamim Iqbal as both have a very fine understanding.
Tamim and Soumya added 154 runs in their opening stand to pace up the comprehensive victory for the hosts against an opponent compromising with world class bowlers.
‘I am always happy batting with him [Tamim Iqbal as we both prefer to go after the bowlers,’ said man of the match Soumya.
‘There are times when you don’t have a start and at that point of time he takes the initiative to play strokes that is very encouraging because it relieves pressure from my shoulder,’ said the 22-year old who also won man of the series award.

-With New Age input

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When good-looking innings not good enough

Admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 06:09:01 +0000

Top-order batsman Soumya Sarkar’s lack of big score continued as he faltered once again after making a good start in the opening one-day international against South Africa on Friday.
Soumya departed for 27 just when he looked to have settled down successfully with his four sweetly timed boundaries. But he opted to end his innings prematurely with a half-hearted drive at a time when Bangladesh needed his service most having been at the receiving end of a hat-trick.
Being the only batsman looking comfortable against hat-trick man Kagiso Rabada, he was expected to help the team into regrouping to resist the further damage.
The ball in which he was dismissed neither it was bowled in exceptionally good area nor any unplayable pace was attached to it. But still it reaped benefit for the visitors because of Soumya’s over-ambitious approach.
Soumya has brought a new wave of positivity and confidence in the Bangladesh cricket team but his repeated failure to convert his starts is becoming a concern for his team.
Soumya looks to dictate terms against any opposition irrespective of their background and it was no different against Proteas at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Soumya, who made his debut in Dhaka against Zimbabwe in the fifth and final one-day international, last year, made his mark in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this year.
The 22-year old was a surprise choice in the team but his presence at top of the order made a vibrant change for the side as his fluent stroke-making not only gave them an early impetus but also sheer confidence.
The fearless attitude of the Tigers helped them reach their first ever quarter-finals in the competition. Soumya’s free-flowing batting style continued after the tournament and that played a big part in Bangladesh’s back-to-back series win against Asian neighbours Pakistan and India.
Till the Indian series the left-hander played 13 innings and in only one of those innings had a single figure.
But despite his impressive batting average of 40.58 and strike rate of 98.58, he scored just three fifties and a century.
His century against Pakistan was a treat to watch as he scored 127 runs off just 113 balls with 13 boundaries and six sixes and that not only confirmed a comfortable victory for his side but also proved his ability to play big innings.
However, his batting graph showed that he got out nine times between 20 to 40 runs out of his 14 innings. When in most cases, they did not do any damage for him, his good-looking small cameo proved to be not good enough against quality oppositions in difficult circumstances.

-With New Age input

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Soumya promises an improved show

Admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 15:25:15 +0000

Bangladesh promised to give an improved show in the second Twenty20 International against South Africa today, saying that their bowlers are not as unplayable as it may have looked. Opener Soumya Sarkar said that the batsmen are confident of implementing their plans in a better way than the first game when they were folded for a meagre 96 runs to concede a 52-run defeat.The Proteas successfully defended a modest score of 148-4 owing to their bowling depth that was too much for the Tigers to handle on a difficult wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Soumya said that the Tigers are capable of handling the attack, which, according to him is nothing ‘extra-ordinary.’
‘They were very normal, just like other bowlers,’ said the opener at the team hotel on Monday.
‘We just could not successfully implement our plan and that’s why they came out on top,’ he said.
Replying to South Africa’s modest score, the Tigers were going neck-to-neck with the visitors despite losing both the openers for 13 as they reached 50 with almost equal pace before JP Duminy turned the game.
Off-break bowler Duminy made the best use of the wicket to grab 2-11 that broke the backbone of Bangladesh’s innings and left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso also played his part with his lone wicket.
Representatives of both the teams said at the post match press conferences that the pitch started providing more turn in the second half of the match making it difficult for Bangladesh.
But Soumya said it was not the pitch, rather some quick dismissals that caused Bangladesh’s downfall.
‘Whenever a team gets into pressure the opponents can get over that side and it was no different with us,’ he said. ‘There was nothing more into it.
‘After Mushfiq Bhai got out and we lost some quick wickets and we went behind.’
‘Everyone saw what went wrong with us. We could execute our planning successfully bowling and fielding but we could not do so with our batting.
‘There was nothing wrong in our planning. The only thing is that we could not execute it. The match would have gone in our favour if we could execute our plans.’
‘We planned to score 45 to 50 runs in the first six overs so that it becomes easy for the rest of the batsmen. But we lost two early wickets and that pushed us on the back foot,’ he said.
Bangladesh went back to drawing board on Monday after the defeat and discussed their shortcomings in a meeting. Only few players, including former one-day captain Mushfiqur Rahim, attended an optional training session at Mirpur.
Soumya said coach Chandika Hathurusinghe asked the team to play the game without being overawed by the opponents and any fear of failure.
‘We just have to play our normal game and play according to our potential,’ said Soumya.
‘I am sure we can come as winners if we can implement our plan to perfection.’

-With New Age input

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Soumya calls Bangladesh favourites against India

Admin — Sun, 31 May 2015 07:44:07 +0000

Perhaps buoyed on by the performance against Pakistan, batsman Soumya Sarkar on Saturday declared Bangladesh as ‘favourites’ in the upcoming home series against India. A full-strength Indian side will arrive in Bangladesh on June 6 to play one Test and three one-day internationals against Bangladesh. ‘I think we are the favourites,’ Soumya told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium as the Tigers began their preparation camp for the series in full flow under the guidance of coach Chandika Hathurusinghe on Saturday.
‘The way we have been playing it suggests that we can do well if we can hold onto our form,’ said Soumya.
‘We had done well against Pakistan and if we can click as a unit we can do well against India as well.’
Bangladesh all-rounder Sakib al Hasan played a similar mind-game prior to the home series against Pakistan.
True to his prediction, Bangladesh beat Pakistan 3-0 in the ODI series to end a 25-match long losing streak and posted their maiden Twenty20 win before came from behind to snatch for a draw in the first Test match.
Soumya was one of the major contributors in the ODI series against Pakistan where he plundered his maiden ODI hundred in the last game to help the Tigers complete the clean sweep.
However, things did not turn up similar in the longer version when Soumya struggled to keep his composure and was unable to score a fifty in any of the four innings that he played.
On his debut in Khulna, Soumya got start in both innings but was out for identical 33 runs on each occasion and failed to translate them into a big one.
He paid the price for being overly ambitious. Soumya said that he started taking those things into account so that he can be productive in the longer version provided he is given another chance against India.
‘I have started taking preparation on how to adapt myself in the Test match situation,’ said Soumya.
‘In the opening Test I could not contribute despite getting set while in the second Test I could not be around for long.
‘I am focusing on how to stay at the wicket for long and working on balls that are needed to be left out.’
Soumya added that his hundred in the last game of Bangladesh Cricket League will help him discover him at different batting positions in different formats.
An upper-order batsman in the ODI version, Soumya was put down the order in the longer format.
‘I always said that I have no problem batting at any position,’ said Soumya.
‘In the BCL I batted at six and in the last game though I failed in the first innings I managed to come good in the second innings that I feel would be helpful,’ said Soumya, who scored 127 runs for champions South Zone in the final round of BCL.

-With New Age input

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