Home ›› 16 May 2023 ›› Sport
Bangladesh managed to hold on to their nerves for the second match in a row to seal their 2-0 series win over Ireland but the match was filled with errors from the batters, which could have cost them the match and the series.
Batting first, the Tigers were bowled out for 274, a score that did not look enough on a pitch which seemed to be friendly for the batters. Only skipper Tamim Iqbal could manage to go past fifty, scoring 69, albeit that took 82 balls, while Mushfiqur Rahim scored 45.
In reply, Ireland were comfortable in the chase as they required 50 runs off the last eight overs with six wickets in hand but a brilliant performance from Mustafizur Rahman, who made his way back into the XI after being dropped for the first two matches and picked up four wickets, and Hasan Mahmud, alongside help from Najmul Hossain Shanto, which saw Bangladesh win by five runs and claim the series.
Although they got the win, Bangladesh will have to think hard and fast about their lineup selection and also their batting performance, which even skipper Tamim deemed to be not good enough.
“I think we can do even better in batting. Especially in situations such as today’s (Sunday). We were dominant in the first 25 overs, and the run rate was around six. But we could not finish well. We should have scored 300-310. This is somewhere we can improve,” he said after the match.
However, the concern should be on the batters getting starts and not converting. Rony Talukdar, jittery on his debut, played 14 balls to hit a boundary and get out, but all of the other batters got in and then out, thus never being able to accelerate.
Both Liton Das and Najmul scored 35 but threw their wickets away right after they got set at the wicket, meaning every time the Tigers gathered some momentum, it was gone.
Towhid Hridoy only managed 13 but Tamim was even more culpable of throwing his wicket away as he had already played 82 balls, and had the chance to score his first century in two years. However, he decided to throw that away by carelessly dancing down the wicket and skying one, meaning all the hard work he did to reach his first fifty in 10 innings went to waste.
“A bit disappointed because I should have batted longer as we were not in a comfortable situation,” Tamim said after the match.
Mushfiq and Mehidy Hasan Miraz added some vital runs but had the opportunity to help Bangladesh find a big finish. However, Mushfiq fell trying to slog sweep, like he has several times in his career, and Miraz was gone attempting a scoop, leading to Bangladesh losing their last five wickets for just 13 runs.
However, despite being behind for most of the Ireland innings, Najmul got Harry Tector and then a brilliant final spell from Mustafiz, where he picked up three wickets in three overs giving away just nine runs, saw Bangladesh script a comeback that was completed by Hasan Mahmud, who gave away just four runs in the final over defending 10.
Tamim, expectedly, was ecstatic with the fact that they held their nerve.
“Today’s match was very special to me. We generally see the other side from these situations. We have lost several times from winning positions. So, to win from there with our bowling was satisfying. The bowling group will find great confidence from here.
“If I say we had the belief of winning, it would be lying. At one point, it seemed like we had lost the match. But cricket is a funny game, and scoreboard pressure is a horrible thing,” the
Bangladesh skipper said.
