It was expected that Bangladesh would dominate their home Test series against West Indies. The visitors were clean-swept by 2-0 last time they played a Test series couple of years back and this time due to covid-19 situation few of their top players withdrew their names from the tour, leaving a more dilapidated side.
Things were going through an expected manner as the hosts dominated the proceedings of first four days in the first match and set a big total of 395 runs on the fourth innings, a task that could never be accomplished in any ground of Asia in the history of Test cricket
But, by defying all odds, the West Indies side rewrote history books as they reached the target losing seven wickets and left not only the Bangladesh side but also the millions of spectators in awe, despair and disbelief.
The successful run chase, orchestrated by a royal 210 not out innings of the debutant Kyle Mayers at the Chattogram’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium felt like a bolt out of the blue for many, but Dhaka Tribune sports desk saw the phenomena under a critical lens to find out the reasons behind the cataclysm.
Complacency
Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam at the end of day four had claimed that a target of even 250 runs would be adequate for Bangladesh to win the game. But as it happened even 394 runs proved insufficient. Fingers are pointed at the Bangladesh dressing room for being complacent and of taking the opponents lightly. There is an argument that Taijul’s statement is his own but one cannot simply rule the fact that he had come to the press conference as a representative to reflect the mentality of his team. One cannot simply rule out the fact that Bangladesh were relaxed their toes. It was evident from their body language as they looked casual on fielding and not prompt on changes when things were going against them.
Bowlers’ failure and the expectation from the wicket
Bangladesh had remained bite less in the first two sessions of the final day. Windies batters Mayers and his fellow debutant Nkrumah Bonner remained solid and took control of the proceeding by utilizing the lack of intents from opponents. Going into the last session West Indies needed 129 in a minimum of 33 overs with seven wickets in hand, and the equation suggested the two batsmen did a splendid job setting up a perfect base to chase in the final part of the game. The duo, before Bonner departed scoring a gritty 86, added 216 for the fourth wicket and Mayers remained in charge to finish the job.
Bangladesh could at last break the stand when Taijul Islam trapped Bonner in front of the wicket and Nayeem Hassan bolstered their chances by picking up Jermaine Blackwood. But, once again they failed to ride on the tempo as they continued to ball on wrong line and length frequently. Mayers, who seemed to be watching the ball like a football, struck 20 boundaries and as many as seven sixes. The visitors struck 49 boundaries- 40 fours and nine sixes- to show how many lose balls were fed to them on the most crucial day of the game.
One may argue that the pitch was not a turner as Bangladesh expected when they deployed four spinners and a lone pacer in shape of Mustafizur Rahman, but it was evident they were too casual against a team that showed grit and was ready to counter-attack.
In Test cricket, unlike short formats of the cricket, a bowler cannot feel his job being done just by completing the quota of overs and expect cheap wickets when batsmen rush in order to raise run-rate. In longest format the bowlers need plans, patience and execution to get wickets. Sadly, Bangladesh bowlers, who play very little long-format competitive games, showed they lack those skills and they may win do well on a friendly deck but exposed to quality opponents on not so friendly conditions.
Missing Shakib in the attack
Bangladesh missed their most experienced campaigner Shakib Al Hasan in the bowling attack as the left-arm spinner walked off the field with an injured left thigh on the second day of the game. He remained in the dressing room for most of the game but with the win slipping away, he would be seen vigilant near the ropes, speaking to the bowlers and passing on messages. Shakib’s unavailability cannot be a big excuse given the other bowlers in the attack combined an experience of 73 Tests.
Captain Mominul and the reviews
Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque has led the side only in five matches and he is not proving himself as a fast learner to become a Test captain. His leadership and decisions in the match as a whole was under criticism and especially his inactivity when things were not going well became major talking points. There were also discussions on how tough it was for him to decide to try occasional bowlers when the four in the attack were not being able to achieve much. Spinners Taijul, Nayeem and Mehedi Hasan and the lone pacer Mustafiz bowled almost 128 overs in the Windies innings and never once Mominul tried to be different getting may be Najmul Hossani Shanto or even himself to bowl a few overs. One cannot tell trying so would have surely got them the success but a different approach often opens up the ray of hope for a team in trouble in Test matches.
Discussion is also wide on Mominul failing to call reviews that would have got Mayers and Bonner out but then again, there were 10 other players in the field, anyone could have made a strong call. It was a failure of the unit.
Lack of preparation
Since the 2015 World Cup, Bangladesh is improving regularly in white ball cricket. One of the major reasons is their opportunities and focus on the limited-over domestic tournaments. While the 50-over and 20-over tournaments in the country are played with seriousness and offers monetary incentives, things are opposite when it comes to red-ball cricket.
The disaster in the Chattogram Test against West Indies once again sheds light to the country’s cricket system that does not emphasise on the longest format of the game. Bangladesh has two longer-format cricket tournaments, National Cricket League and Bangladesh Cricket League, but one can hardly tell when the last time any member of the current Test squad played a full season in any of the tournaments. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also plays a part in this as the two longer-version cricket tournaments are mostly held when the national team cricketers are busy with international schedule but the same board make vigorous effort to find free slots in the calendar to ensure the national cricketer’s participation in the two premier white-ball cricket tournaments, Dhaka Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League T20.
Bangladesh returned to international cricket after almost 10 months due to force break by Covid-19 pandemic. The board ensured the cricketers are able to shred the rust and had arranged two white-ball cricket tournaments in shape of the President’s Cup and Bangabandhu Cup T20 but nothing with the red-ball.
It was almost asking a student to appear in the tough examination without giving enough opportunities to prepare and the result was inevitable. Perhaps, the rare wins of the Tigers were the ones that are most surprising than the debacle they faced. It is remained to be seen, another shock, an umpteenth one, may hit the right places to awake the ones who matters most.