Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal missed possibly his final chance to impress in the World Cup 2019 after he made only 22 runs in their must-win contest against India at Birmingham on Tuesday.
Set a target of 315 runs, Bangladesh required a positive start from someone like Tamim, which would have given them an opportunity to put the pressure back on the bowling side.
Tamim, the highest run scorer for Bangladesh in all three formats, did it many times in the past in big chases but it never quite happened in this World Cup, which has turned out to be a rather ordinary campaign for him.
He got a start in almost every game but wasted it, always putting the next batsmen under pressure.
His 227 runs in seven innings at an average of 32.42 may seem decent on any other occasion but in a World Cup, where pitches favoured the batsmen mostly, Bangladesh had expected a lot better from Tamim.
Tamim had an example in India’s Rohit Sharma about how an opener should approach the game as the latter scored now four centuries in the tournament.
Tamim had some contribution in his latest century against Bangladesh, 104 off 94 balls, as he dropped the batsman on nine off the bowling of Mustafizur Rahman.
He, however, had an opportunity to make an amendment with the bat but he instead chopped one from Mohammad Shami onto his stumps to add more pressure on others.
It was the third consecutive match where Tamim got dismissed in this manner, which raised the question whether the left-hander had a technical deficiency in his batting.
Coach Steve Rhodes defended Tamim after the game, dismissing the idea that he got some problem in his technique and also backed him to come good in future.
But time ran out for him to do so in this World Cup, with Bangladesh now out of the semi-final race and having just one game left against Pakistan.
A good innings against Pakistan at Lord’s, where he has a good memory in a 2010 Test match, will still be appreciated but it will do little to heal his World Cup wounds.
-With New Age input
