Bangladesh top-order’s shambolic display of batting in this World Cup continued as they fell like a house of cards against the disciplined bowling attack of the Netherlands in Saturday's group stage match at Eden Gardens.
The way Bangladesh batsmen surrendered was shocking and painful to watch for millions of fans back home, and even more frustrating for thousands of fans who travelled to Kolkata to watch their beloved team play.
The opening pair Liton Das and Tanzid Hasan failed to provide a solid start once again and their only significant contribution thus far in six outings of this World Cup was the 93-run stand against India, that too in a losing cause.
They managed to post 19 against Afghanistan, 14 against England, nought against New Zealand and 30 against South Africa.
And Saturday against a valiant Dutch side, that poor opening run continued as the partnership was broken in the fifth over with just 19 runs on the board.
It looked like the same story yet again in the ongoing World Cup.
Bangladesh would lose their first four wickets quickly and come under huge pressure and then Mahmudullah will be kind of a lone warrior and bat in damage control mode, scoring some runs to register some respectable total or decrease the margin of defeat.
Apart from the opening encounter against Afghanistan, the pattern of losing the first four wickets for Bangladesh batsmen has been extremely frustrating to say the least.
Bangladesh lost their fourth wicket against England on 49 runs, against New Zealand on 56, against India they formed a good opening stand of 93 but then lost the fourth wicket on 137, against South Africa on 60 and against the Netherlands was the same pathetic story as the fourth wicket was lost when the score was 63.
The manner in which Bangladesh top-order crumbled against a decent Dutch bowling attack and their medium pacers, at one stage it looked like the Netherlands were the full-fledged Test-playing nation and Bangladesh, an associate one.
And the way Bangladesh batters got out, it was pathetic as there were absolutely no demons on the pitch and it was good enough to bat on under the lights at Eden Gardens.
Tanzid’s failed attempt at a pull shot, Liton’s audacious reverse sweep, skipper Shakib al Hasan, Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Mehedi Hasan Miraz’s unnecessary pokes outside the off-stump and giving catching practice were awful examples of batsmanship from the Tigers’ experienced line-up.
For the Netherlands, it is another historic win and landmark in their cricketing history.
The memorable triumph sent a clear message of their rise in the cricket map but for Bangladesh, it’s the exact opposite and can easily be considered as one of the most humiliating defeats in 50-over cricket in recent years.
