Bangladesh were pitted in a tough pool in the first round with Group D termed the group of death for featuring South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and Nepal. But the Tigers emerged victorious in three of their four games, and could have even won against the Proteas had they not come up short in the final ball of the encounter. Now they have qualified for the Super Eight stage where they will face Australia, India and Afghanistan this week. Here are five talking points from Bangladesh’s performance in Group D:
Inconsistency in top-order continues
The top-order struggled prior to the Twenty20 World Cup, putting in inconsistent displays and failing to produce solid starts. And that problem continued in the group stage also. Bangladesh lost their first two wickets for just seven runs against India in the warm-up game, for six runs against Sri Lanka, for 29 runs against South Africa, for 23 runs against the Netherlands and for seven runs against Nepal. Skipper Nazmul Hossain Shanto is having a torrid time with the bat in the top-order as he scored four, one, 14, seven and nought in his last five trips to the crease. If Bangladesh want to perform well in the Super 8s then the top three – Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Liton Das and Shanto – must score big and provide a sound base.
Shakib’s recent T20I form
Shakib al Hasan’s form, particularly with the bat, was a major talking point as the veteran all-rounder was below his best prior to the world event. Shakib made eight and three in the first two matches against Sri Lanka and South Africa and was heavily criticized for the way he got out. Questions were raised about his place in the playing XI for he was not getting wickets with the ball as well. A crucial unbeaten knock of 64 against the Dutch helped the Tigers win the game and earned him the player of the match award. But even including the 64-run knock, Shakib has only garnered 150 runs in eight innings this year with 21.42 average and just 106.38 strike rate. And with the cherry, he bagged two scalps against Nepal but remained wicketless in the previous three games.
Rishad becomes X-factor
When leg-spinners have become integral part of bowling attack in white-ball cricket in all other teams around the world over the last seven-eight years, Bangladesh were still searching for their desired leggie, until they found Rishad Hossain. The tall right-arm leg-spinner was performing impressively before the T20 World Cup and got picked up in the squad. He showed his talent in the biggest stage with crucial breakthroughs in tough situations of the game. And so Rishad has quickly become the X-factor of Bangladesh bowling, something that the Tigers were looking for many years. His double-wicket over against the Lankans changed the course of the first match and earned him the man of the match award. Against the Netherlands he did the same, taking two wickets in an over at a vital stage, when the Dutch were on course to their target. His batting ability at the tail-end also gave Bangladesh the edge in the late stages.
Tanzim rises to the occasion
When right-arm paceman Tanzim Hasan Sakib was included ahead of all-rounder Saifuddin in the T20 World Cup squad, discussions were doing the rounds whether an all-rounder could have been more effective than a pacer. But Tanzim proved his doubters wrong and bowled brilliantly in the group phase. Tanzim has bowled 15 overs and picked up nine wickets, conceding just 4.8 per over in the first four games. He produced a match-winning performance against Nepal where he grabbed four wickets and leaked just seven runs in his four overs while defending just 106 on a tricky pitch in Saint Vincent. He sent down a total of 21 dot balls out of 24 which was a record at that time in T20 World Cups. Later it was broken by New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson who unleashed four straight maiden overs against Papua New Guinea. Tanzim’s good form with the ball reflects the progression of Bangladesh pacers in recent years.
Brilliant Mustafizur showing his class
Mustafizur Rahman has showed his class all through the tournament, bowling superbly with all his cutters and variations. It was predicted that the slow nature of wickets in the USA and the West Indies would suit Mustafizur in the ongoing world event and the Fizz is doing exactly the things he usually does in favorable conditions, providing plenty of dot balls and bagging wickets by creating pressure on the opponent batsmen. Just a couple of examples of Mustafizur’s brilliance in the last two matches was when he gave away just 12 runs in his four overs while defending 159 against the Dutch on a good wicket and bowled a wicket maiden in the 19th over of the innings when 22 runs were needed from 12 balls against Nepal. Overall Mustafizur has conceded just 54 runs in his 16 overs in four matches, and notched seven wickets with a stunning economy of 3.37.