The desire to win the toss has spread like a virus among the Bangladesh cricket team. Almost the whole team has just one wish before each game: “Let Mushfiq (the captain) win the toss, and we’ll do the rest.”
Bangladesh lost the toss in the first two games of the three-match ODI series. Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe’s shrewd captain, put the Tigers in to bat on both occasions, reasoning that the wicket gets flatter as the day progresses. In the first match, Bangladesh were able to put up 269 and win the match by a comfortable 121 runs, but in the second, on a significantly flatter pitch at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, their bowlers were thrashed as Zimbabwe romped to a six-wicket series tying win.
In the deciding match today, Bangladesh are hoping to win the toss, and firmly believe they can down even 300 runs if necessary.
“I was relaxed in both the games thinking that the top-order has a long way to go, at least 25 overs, but it never happened. To be honest I felt pity for them in both the matches. The wicket was really hard to play on in the early morning, at least the first 15 overs,” said a member of the team.
It is true that the wicket has been difficult early in the first innings in both matches, and Zimbabwe has capitalised on it. Still, what does it say when a side, who are considered superior to their opponents, think of a 100-over game simply on the basis of which way a coin falls?
Bangladesh’s ODI form has been good for about a year now. It all started in the 2012 Asia Cup, where they defeated India and Sri Lanka, and were within two runs of toppling Pakistan for the title. That winter, the good run continued with a 3-2 series win at home against the West Indies. Three months later, they drew 1-1 with Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.
The wickets in Zimbabwe have been tricky. They have been green, hampering Bangladesh’s spin attack and making life difficult for the side batting first. The toss in such a situation is not unimportant, but in the first game, Bangladesh were sent in to bat and pulled off a convincing win. So why the mental block about batting first?
In truth, it says more about cricketers in general than it does about the actual game itself. Cricket is a game that can turn anytime, and cricketers are notoriously superstitious. We consider them “professional” – and they are – but they are also human, with whims and fancies.
“One always looks for an easy road, isn’t it? I am sure they (Zimbabwe) also have this in mind. However, we are ready to face anything and everything. Yes, there will be pressure. There always is when we play against them, because people expect us to win,” said one of the Bangladesh players.
Philosophy aside, he went on to add that he wanted to bowl first in the final match.