Bangladesh’s batting showed rare consistency during the first three games of the ongoing five-match one-day international series against Zimbabwe which helped them to wrap up the series without any serious hiccup. Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe in all three matches to clinch the series but more than that, it showed that the performance graph of the batting unit had taken an upward curve.
Coming into the series Tigers’ major concern was their batting as their lack of consistency in the department is most blamed for their 12 successive defeats in 2014.
But the batsmen managed to silence critics by showing their actual worth, posting over 250 runs in all the three games, giving their bowlers a psychological boost on each occasion.
Moreover, the way they played in the series so far only indicated to the depth in their batting as no individual player single-handedly took the crease by storm, and on every occasion there was sign of improvement.
They successfully managed to overcome an early collapse in the first game when Sakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim resurrected the innings by putting up a record fifth wicket stand of 148 runs.
Sakib made his sixth ODI century but it was equally important to accompany him from the other end.
Mushfiq (65) played the role near to perfection while the cameo of debutant Sabbir Rahman (44 not out) came as an icing on the cake for the hosts.
In the second match, Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque put on 158 runs for the opening stand to make the task of the remaining batsmen easier, though a failed experiment saw them losing six wickets for 46 runs and lose their way.
Mominul Haque, coming at an unusual number seven position, brought the innings back on track, with his unbeaten 33 runs.
This act only reflected that no matter where the batsmen are placed in the batting order they are confident of completing their part and taking the game away from the reach of the opponents.
Tamim and Anamul put together 121 runs in the opening stand in Wednesday’s third match, which made them the first Bangladeshi pair to put century stand in consecutive ODIs.
The middle-order also did not disappoint and with contribution from almost everyone who batted, the Tigers reached 297-6, their highest total in the series.
The contribution of the batsmen also helped the bowlers as they were more aggressive than what they seemed to be earlier, and in the process ably dominated the visitors.
As a result, Bangladesh won the three ODI’s respectively by 87 runs, 68 runs and 124 runs to secure the series with two matches to spare.
The transformation of Tamim from an aggressive opener to a batsman focusing on accumulating runs was also evident in his innings of 76 and 40 in second and third ODIs.
Anamul Haque missed out on a century on consecutive matches but his 80 and 95 runs in successive innings only reflected his new-found confidence.
Backing their openers, the middle-order showed they are growing up as a team, and with the World Cup just two months away, nothing can be more satisfying to the fans and followers.
-With New Age input
