Ebadot sees both sides of the coin on debut

Ebadot Hossain was having a fantastic debut in Twenty20 Internationals. In his first two overs as he gave Bangladesh their desired breakthrough and picked up three wickets in no time.

But cricket, according to the most cliché line of all time, is a game of glorious uncertainty. And thus, that happiness in Ebadot’s mouth turned into dust as he ended up conceding 37 runs in his last two overs, resulting in a knockout punch for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup.

Ebadot, including the match on Thursday, has only two matches of experience in limited-overs international cricket. But it didn’t seem like that as he bowled with pace and accuracy to trouble the Sri Lankan batsmen and got Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, and Danushka Gunathilaka out.

But then came his second spell. He took nine balls to bowl his third over, bowling two wides and a no-ball. Along with that came two sixes, meaning he had given away 21 runs in the over, shifting the momentum towards Sri Lanka.

When he came on to bowl his final over, the Lankans needed 25 off 12 deliveries with three wickets in hand. Ebadot bowled one wide and a no-ball. He went for four in the no-ball, and the extra delivery which came after the wide was also hit for four. In total, he gave away 17, meaning Sri Lanka were served the match on a silver platter.

What was weird in his last over was his unwillingness to bowl at the stumps despite tailenders being at the crease. After the match, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan said that Ebadot could learn from this match.

“I don’t think Ebadot ever played a pressure match like this before. This is the first time. He is playing Tests regularly and has played an ODI, but it was his first time on the big stage.

“He still has a lot to learn. The first two overs he bowled brought us into the game. After that, very naturally, we thought it was going to be his day. You expect him to be in good rhythm, remain positive, and be in a good mental state. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. I think he can learn a lot from this match,” Shakib said in the post-match press conference.