How not to chase 327

Bangladesh already had an uphill battle ahead of them when the England innings ended as they had to record their highest chase by scoring 327 to level the series against England.

Three early wickets pegged them back, sure. But the manner their batters, even their highest scorer and the most proactive one Shakib Al Hasan, took aboard an approach that was never suited for such a big chase.

Bangladesh played a total of 163 dot balls of the 44.4 overs they played, meaning 32.1 overs did not produce a single run, and that, aside the early collapse and questionable fielding, ended up being a big deciding factor.

Skipper Tamim Iqbal, despite his opening partner and two other batters departing early, seemed in a good flow early on as he was on 24 off 33 balls by the time the first powerplay ended.

Nonetheless, as soon as off-spinner Will Jacks came into bowl, the left-handed batter went inside a shell, blocking out while Shakib was rotating the strike with pretty much ease at the other end. At one point, he played 11 dots on the trot, allowing the already heightened required run rate escalate beyond a point of no return.

By the time he was out playing a foolish and hapless shot, he had played 42 dot balls, and the ball he got out, among the 65 he played in total. This means 66% of the balls he played did not produce a run and that he took 33 balls to score 11 runs after the first powerplay.

Shakib played the best innings of the Bangladesh bout but he also played 30 dot balls, and his innings might go under the storm because of him being the only batter who looked comfortable at the pitch.

Mahmudullah Riyad played 49 balls to score 32 runs, playing 25 dot balls, meaning that including the delivery he got out in, he did not score a run in 53% of the balls he faced.

Afif Hossain took 11 balls to get his first run off the bat, and overall, he played 20 dot balls out of the 33 he played, resulting in missing on a run in 60% of his deliveries.

While the chase might have been lost in the early overs, the intent that the batters showed in the latter part of the innings in no way helped Bangladesh as they conceded the series tamely.