Bangladesh’s 1-2 defeat in the away ODI series against Zimbabwe has not only raised questions regarding their ability to adapt to different conditions, but also hit team morale and raised concerns about the team’s future.
There are several points that contributed to the Tigers’ underperformance. The carelessness and irresponsibility shown by top-five batsmen, the mental block of not wanting to bat first that they failed to overcome and the inconsistent line and length of the bowlers.
Bangladesh lost their top order below 100 in all three occasions, forcing their number six and seven to recover and make up the damage. Batting at number six, Nasir Hossain is the leading run scorer of the three-match series with 167 runs, including two fifties.
A convincing 121-run victory in the opener overshadowed the collapse that Bangladesh had to overcome during their innings. A score of 260 plus was always on the cards after a 65-run opening stand, but a rush of blood reduced saw them falter to 94-4. Nasir’s valuable 68 restored parity for the Tigers on that occasion.
The joy of winning was soon washed away as the hosts hit back in the second game. Bangladesh scored 253 thanks largely to number nine Abdur Razzak’s 22-ball blitz of 53 - an innings that equaled Ashraful’s record for fastest fifty by a Bangladeshi player – after the visitors had again been in trouble at 88-4. This time, Zimbabwe strolled home with four wickets and 13 balls to spare.
Both teams had their own reasons for giving it all in the decider. For Bangladesh, a loss meant humiliation, questions, questions and more questions! For Zimbabwe, a rare series win was within clutching distance.
The toss was the most important part of the game to the Bangladeshi batters, as they were reluctant to bat first. From a professional’s point of view, one would expect them to be able to adapt and play according to whatever situation came upon them.
Bangladesh gave 25% of the match away when they lost the toss. The top five tried to break out of the shackles, but failed again. From 15-2, Mushfiq and Tamim showed some urgency and signs of maturity, as they had six months ago against West Indies and more recently, in Sri Lanka, only to throw it away. Charging and throwing their wicket away only saw the team fall to 84-4, and if it were not for fifties from Nasir and Mahmudullah, Bangladesh would have given up on the match before the hosts batted.
Meanwhile, the bowlers were anything but penetrative, and found themselves steam rolled by the hosts on a flat, second innings wicket.
The series not only slipped, the captain did, too. The defeat was too much for Mushfiq, who had a poor series with the bat, and unable to control his emotions, the captain announced that he would be resigning his post after the T20 matches.