Home ›› 27 Dec 2022 ›› Sport
It was a magical morning in Mount Maunganui. Bangladesh, after years of just one defeat after another in New Zealand, finally found a win, and that too in the longer format.
Ebadot Hossain pulled off the best bowling spell by a Bangladeshi pacer in Tests, and a combined batting effort meant the Tigers walked to an easy win, that too without the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal.
After a winless first cycle of the World Test Championship, that win not only gave Bangladesh their first win in the tournament but also pointed at them possibly having a good year in the format.
But as the year came to a close with a three-wicket defeat to India, the year was once again one of despair, disappointment, and disasters.
In the 10 Tests played this year, Bangladesh’s solitary win was in the Tasman country, and their only draw came against Sri Lanka in the middle of the year with all the other matches lost, meaning they ended the year with an 80% loss record.
The year ended up being even more disappointing because the Tigers had their chance to claim several landmark victories, but they fell short in timid manners.
Like their first Test against South Africa. A brilliant bowling effort from Ebadot, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Taskin Ahmed ensured that Bangladesh only had 274 to chase down in the fourth innings to win their first-ever Test in the African country.
But a shocking batting collapse saw them bowled out for 53, their second-lowest total in their history. It was even more extraordinary as South Africa only used two bowlers in that innings - Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer - and the two finger spinners shared the 10 wickets as the whole Bangladesh batting unit fell like a house of cards.
They failed miserably against West Indies in the Caribbeans, but they had the chance to end the year on a high as they had reduced India to 74-7 chasing 145 in Mirpur, their last Test of the year.
But then, a catch of Ravichandran Ashwin, the eventual player of the match, was dropped in line with the continued poor performances on the field, and they lost the match by three wickets.
In between the two defeats, a lot of other things happened in the Test team as Mominul Haque first resigned as captain due to his string of subpar performances, and Shakib returned to the helm since his ban from the International Cricket Council.
Mominul was then dropped for two Tests but managed an 84 as he returned in the final Test of the year.
The team also saw some changes as Liton Das continued to take responsibility and turned up as the best batter of the year, while there merry-go-around regarding the opening slot as Bangladesh tried out six openers in 12 Tests, with none from the Test in Mount Maunganui - Shadman Islam and Mahmudul Hasan Joy - managed to keep their place.
But it was an exciting year for the fast bowlers for Bangladesh as Ebadot, Taskin, and Syed Khaled Ahmed became to rise as regular wicket-takers, meaning the Tigers had to worry less about their pace attack in overseas conditions.
Overall, it meant that skipper Shakib could be hopeful for the coming year.
“Yes, you rue going close without winning but it’s a good thing that now we are getting close. Hopefully, we will be able to show results from the next year,” he said after their defeat to India on Sunday.
The Bangladesh all-rounder added, “Overall if I have to summarise 2022, I have to say that we have played really good cricket. Especially the mentality, where we may have had a huge lacking, we have improved a lot here. I think the thoughts we have, and the leadership that is growing, I think we will see a difference in 2023.”
Bangladesh only have five Tests in 2023 as the One-Day World Cup will take the limelight. But with all the Tests at home against Ireland, Afghanistan, and New Zealand, Shakib was hopeful of winning them all.
And Bangladesh will hope that his words come true.
