Well winning is of utmost importance for the West Indies especially after the first test ended in a draw and in that test match, the player of the match was given to the Bangladeshi bowler Elias Sunny who scalped 6 wickets in the first innings. More than that, Bangladesh had a first innings lead of 106 runs which definitely draws in a lot of criticisms from all over. On the whole, the West Indies had nothing to take home in that match that lasted for five days. Now, though West Indies have taken a 1st innings lead, the game still lies in a balance.
In the ongoing second test, outlook suggests that everything is going on right for the West Indies after they had a lead of 231 runs by the end of the third day's play. But, with two more days still to go, a draw can well be expected to be on the cards. Had it been India or South Africa, may be a total of 231 would have solved matters. But, with the opposition being West Indies, nothing can be said surely. Things that are to be confirmed for the West Indies to ensure a win are first, they should put up a more decent total on the board.
And, secondly, they will have to bowl out Bangladesh for the second time in the game which requires a lot of thinking and planning. An ideal approach would be to leave the Bangladeshi batsmen with enough time, batting which requires a lot of hard work and at the same time winning the same needs effort. With little time left for the hosts to bat, the best approach for them would be to stand and see to it that the game gets drawn. And, in case West Indies are to see to it that Bangladesh don't snatch a draw, then a considerable time needs to be given for them to bat.
For that to happen, there needs to be a quickfire batting display from Bravo and co, ensuring the touring nation that they leave Bangladesh with no other option but to either go for the kill or else surrender. The ideal total looking at the third day's play would be somewhere close to 500. In case the match ends in a draw, it is as though Bangladesh have retained the trophy with them whitewashing the West Indies on their previous tour couple of years back. So, that is why winning is important for the West Indies. Still, all is not lost when you can make money online.
Showing posts with label Bangladesh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangladesh. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Day one has it for Bangladesh
Usually, whenever there is a test match involving Bangladesh, one can guess that Bangladesh would be hoping for the rains to drop down so that they can end the match with a draw convincing fools that they would have won the game had there been no interruption by rain or bad weather. But, that might not be the case in case Bangladesh are facing Zimbabwe with their chances being high against that trouble torn team. And, speaking present, the latest entry into Bangladesh's wish list would be the West Indies against whom, at least at home Bangladesh can hope to win.
Yesterday in the first day of the first test match against West Indies at Chittagong, until rain interrupted in between, Bangladesh was doing well by not losing wickets at regular intervals and scoring at just less than 3.0 runs an over, which would not have been the case had West Indies been batting. It would not be wrong to say that the pitch also assisted the Bangladeshi batsmen which on the other hand makes the Bangladeshi captain's decision to bat first a mistake. But, it is always good in test matches to opt to bat first no matter what the pitch has got to say.
With repeated bounce, it is more of a certainty that the pitch will start giving troubles to the batsmen who bat in the days to come irrespective of whether a roller has been used or not. Bangladesh were able to cross the 250 run mark on the first day itself without losing too many wickets. If the other side of the cricketing world is considered, Sri Lanka in their first test against Pakistan were bowled out for 197 on day 1 itself. But, Sri Lanka were not playing at home and neither were Pakistan. Moreover, Sri Lanka are considered to be better outfit than Bangladesh.
At the same time, Pakistan are a far better outfit than West Indies. Coming to the first day's play, there were two batsmen from Bangladesh who notched up half centuries when Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal scored 68* and 52 respectively. Despite varying the fielding, Darren Sammy couldn't stop 136 runs in running between wickets not to forget the 23 boundaries scored to keep the ball boys on their toes. Whatever the Bangladeshis do, every effort gets applauded unlike their opponents who take home nothing despite winning and on the other hand get criticized in case they lose. Check out for the latest on Stock Market.
Yesterday in the first day of the first test match against West Indies at Chittagong, until rain interrupted in between, Bangladesh was doing well by not losing wickets at regular intervals and scoring at just less than 3.0 runs an over, which would not have been the case had West Indies been batting. It would not be wrong to say that the pitch also assisted the Bangladeshi batsmen which on the other hand makes the Bangladeshi captain's decision to bat first a mistake. But, it is always good in test matches to opt to bat first no matter what the pitch has got to say.
With repeated bounce, it is more of a certainty that the pitch will start giving troubles to the batsmen who bat in the days to come irrespective of whether a roller has been used or not. Bangladesh were able to cross the 250 run mark on the first day itself without losing too many wickets. If the other side of the cricketing world is considered, Sri Lanka in their first test against Pakistan were bowled out for 197 on day 1 itself. But, Sri Lanka were not playing at home and neither were Pakistan. Moreover, Sri Lanka are considered to be better outfit than Bangladesh.
At the same time, Pakistan are a far better outfit than West Indies. Coming to the first day's play, there were two batsmen from Bangladesh who notched up half centuries when Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal scored 68* and 52 respectively. Despite varying the fielding, Darren Sammy couldn't stop 136 runs in running between wickets not to forget the 23 boundaries scored to keep the ball boys on their toes. Whatever the Bangladeshis do, every effort gets applauded unlike their opponents who take home nothing despite winning and on the other hand get criticized in case they lose. Check out for the latest on Stock Market.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
West Indies' real color
The series against Bangladesh is the third full fledged series that the West Indies team is found playing against sub-continent nations after they had a series each against Pakistan and India. However, the result of the series against Bangladesh was totally different from what happened in the series against India and Pakistan. West Indies won the series 2-1 after losing to the hosts yesterday at Chittagong by 8 wickets. That is not the only reason why I say that the series was exact opposite to what happened in their two earlier series'. It was as though you are searching for gadgets online.
In the earlier two series', West Indies were hosting Pakistan and India unlike in the ongoing series against Bangladesh where West Indies are touring the sub-continent nation. Adding to that, in the series' against Pakistan and India, West Indies won two games against both the sub-continent nations after being totally out of the tournament when they won the inconsequential games in the 4th and 5th ODI. This time, they won the series and instead lost inconsequential match against Bangladesh. But, the way they lost the third one dayer speaks it all for the West Indies. West Indies got all-out for 61.
Both India and Pakistan didn't go down to that level of misery despite losing those two games which were inconsequential. It is not necessary for us to go to the details of that series. But, getting all-out against Bangladesh speaks of the true caliber of the West Indies team. It would not come as a surprise had in case West Indies whitewashed the hosts but, they might just have to pray God that even West Indies do not meet with the same fate in case they lose against Bangladesh. Two years back, they had been whitewashed by the same Bangladesh on their home soil.
But, that was a different situation with most of the players opting out of the series owing to some stupid strike against the WICB. Scorecard suggests that only 22 overs of the match were played by the West Indies confusing the viewers whether they were watching a T20 game or a ODI. Should we congratulate Kieran Powell for scoring 25 runs to become the highest run scorer for the West Indies team? When the crowd there would have been cursing for lack of any batting display on the field, a six from the blades of Imrul Kayes was as good as an ocean in a desert.
In the earlier two series', West Indies were hosting Pakistan and India unlike in the ongoing series against Bangladesh where West Indies are touring the sub-continent nation. Adding to that, in the series' against Pakistan and India, West Indies won two games against both the sub-continent nations after being totally out of the tournament when they won the inconsequential games in the 4th and 5th ODI. This time, they won the series and instead lost inconsequential match against Bangladesh. But, the way they lost the third one dayer speaks it all for the West Indies. West Indies got all-out for 61.
Both India and Pakistan didn't go down to that level of misery despite losing those two games which were inconsequential. It is not necessary for us to go to the details of that series. But, getting all-out against Bangladesh speaks of the true caliber of the West Indies team. It would not come as a surprise had in case West Indies whitewashed the hosts but, they might just have to pray God that even West Indies do not meet with the same fate in case they lose against Bangladesh. Two years back, they had been whitewashed by the same Bangladesh on their home soil.
But, that was a different situation with most of the players opting out of the series owing to some stupid strike against the WICB. Scorecard suggests that only 22 overs of the match were played by the West Indies confusing the viewers whether they were watching a T20 game or a ODI. Should we congratulate Kieran Powell for scoring 25 runs to become the highest run scorer for the West Indies team? When the crowd there would have been cursing for lack of any batting display on the field, a six from the blades of Imrul Kayes was as good as an ocean in a desert.
Sunday, 16 October 2011
1-1....2-1....3-1....
It is just some miracle that makes the West Indies bowlers make hay even before the sun has risen when they had their second consecutive victory over Bangladesh yesterday at Dhaka once again.This time the victory margin for West Indies was a mind blowing 8 wickets chasing 221 for victory. No one disputes West Indies' win over Bangladesh like they do for the viceversa. But, with Bangladesh hosting the tournament and secondly winning the one off T20 game, something special would no doubt be expected from Bangladesh whatsoever. But, for all those who expect that there was a disaster waiting.
One of the teams playing which the Bangladeshi team enjoys would be West Indies for, against them at least coming close to winning would be a certainty which can shut up a lot of critics. In the first game at the same venue, Bangladesh were able to cross the 250 run mark and didn't lose more than 7 wickets en route to the same (losing 7 wickets deserves condemnation). This time, the Bangladeshi batsmen were bowled out before 50 overs and the way the scoreboard read with the first three wickets falling was amazing. Bangladesh lost their first three wickets with 1 run on the board.
However, the batsmen who came in later tried to save some face for their team with Mushfiqur Rahim top scoring with 69. Later on for Bangladesh, Nasir Hossain belted 50 runs coming in at number 8 which was the highlight not only in the Bangladeshi innings but also in the game overall. There were 5 batsmen from Bangladesh who did their duty well after the failed top three batsmen. Unlike in the last game, there were a couple of overs maiden in the West Indies side with Kemar Roach and Andre Russel having a ball. West Indies in the end could prove something with a series win.
Shafiul Islam had a confusing spell with him being one of the frontline bowlers for the Bangladesh side bowling 2 overs maiden and still giving away runs at a rate of 7.57 runs an over. Bringing in 7 of his bowlers could not help in Mushfiqur Rahim's men go home empty handed. But, I'd give him thumbs up for trying out too many things that helps a captain in the long run. Scorecard suggests that both captains had other decisions in mind when they had only two bowlers bowling their complete quota of 10 overs. In the end, West Indies have managed to win a series.
One of the teams playing which the Bangladeshi team enjoys would be West Indies for, against them at least coming close to winning would be a certainty which can shut up a lot of critics. In the first game at the same venue, Bangladesh were able to cross the 250 run mark and didn't lose more than 7 wickets en route to the same (losing 7 wickets deserves condemnation). This time, the Bangladeshi batsmen were bowled out before 50 overs and the way the scoreboard read with the first three wickets falling was amazing. Bangladesh lost their first three wickets with 1 run on the board.
However, the batsmen who came in later tried to save some face for their team with Mushfiqur Rahim top scoring with 69. Later on for Bangladesh, Nasir Hossain belted 50 runs coming in at number 8 which was the highlight not only in the Bangladeshi innings but also in the game overall. There were 5 batsmen from Bangladesh who did their duty well after the failed top three batsmen. Unlike in the last game, there were a couple of overs maiden in the West Indies side with Kemar Roach and Andre Russel having a ball. West Indies in the end could prove something with a series win.
Shafiul Islam had a confusing spell with him being one of the frontline bowlers for the Bangladesh side bowling 2 overs maiden and still giving away runs at a rate of 7.57 runs an over. Bringing in 7 of his bowlers could not help in Mushfiqur Rahim's men go home empty handed. But, I'd give him thumbs up for trying out too many things that helps a captain in the long run. Scorecard suggests that both captains had other decisions in mind when they had only two bowlers bowling their complete quota of 10 overs. In the end, West Indies have managed to win a series.
Friday, 14 October 2011
West Indies are the new Zimbabwe
Since the past five years or so, Bangladesh's only win used to come against Zimbabwe to a greater extent and very rarely Bangladesh was found to beat strong nations like Australia and India. Now, with Zimbabwe going out of focus, it looks like West Indies have taken their place when they had a hard fought victory against Bangladesh at Dhaka yesterday. There is no doubt that Bangladesh are not the easiest of the opposition to defeat or rather thrash like they were some eight years ago. They had a win in the only T20 game that was played a couple of days back.
In ODIs, Bangladesh are not far behind the West Indies and one need not find it tough to have betters putting their money on the game. Yesterday, the West Indies piled up 298 runs on the board with century from Lendl Simmons who top scored with 122 followed by Marlon Samuels' 71 off 78 balls. The result is not a tough one to guess but the way matches have been won by West Indies speaks for it. One can go through the entire West Indies team to see majority of the players having their talk only with the bat and the team lacks bowlers.
With as many as eight batsmen in their team, the total should have crossed 350 which didn't happen whatsoever. A score of 298 is no doubt a decent one but not with 8 batsmen in their side and not against a team like Bangladesh. Looking at their bowling chart, it can be said that Bangladesh are no short of talented players but what they lack at the moment is a well planning whether it is defending a total or chasing one. The Bangladeshi captain had only 3 of his bowlers bowling their complete quota of 10 overs out of the 7 bowlers who made it there.
Alok Kapali who went for just 4 runs an over was allowed to bowl just 6 overs while Abdur Razzak bowled 9 overs despite going in for over 7.00 runs an over. So was the case regarding Naeem Islam and Nasir Hossain who were given to bowl just 3 and 2 overs respectively. Bangladesh could have and should have won with the West Indian side having a scarcity of bowlers in their side needless to be said. But, fortunately, the West Indies' bowlers did a fab job in the end with every bowler having his share to the team. You might be interested in Movies reviews here after read and you can watch the movie at theater.
In ODIs, Bangladesh are not far behind the West Indies and one need not find it tough to have betters putting their money on the game. Yesterday, the West Indies piled up 298 runs on the board with century from Lendl Simmons who top scored with 122 followed by Marlon Samuels' 71 off 78 balls. The result is not a tough one to guess but the way matches have been won by West Indies speaks for it. One can go through the entire West Indies team to see majority of the players having their talk only with the bat and the team lacks bowlers.
With as many as eight batsmen in their team, the total should have crossed 350 which didn't happen whatsoever. A score of 298 is no doubt a decent one but not with 8 batsmen in their side and not against a team like Bangladesh. Looking at their bowling chart, it can be said that Bangladesh are no short of talented players but what they lack at the moment is a well planning whether it is defending a total or chasing one. The Bangladeshi captain had only 3 of his bowlers bowling their complete quota of 10 overs out of the 7 bowlers who made it there.
Alok Kapali who went for just 4 runs an over was allowed to bowl just 6 overs while Abdur Razzak bowled 9 overs despite going in for over 7.00 runs an over. So was the case regarding Naeem Islam and Nasir Hossain who were given to bowl just 3 and 2 overs respectively. Bangladesh could have and should have won with the West Indian side having a scarcity of bowlers in their side needless to be said. But, fortunately, the West Indies' bowlers did a fab job in the end with every bowler having his share to the team. You might be interested in Movies reviews here after read and you can watch the movie at theater.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
T20 can be anyone's game
This might not be true regarding the other two formats of the game where Bangladesh winning over West Indies makes headlines. But, in a T20 game that happens to be just a formality with both teams having an equal chance of winning or losing the match. Likewise, even in a one day international, it would not be anything new in case West Indies lose to Bangladesh despite the likes of Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan having their presence in the team. Let alone Bangladesh, even had Ireland been in place, they would have chased down that total of 133 set by West Indies.
It might turn out to be a Romantic's Blog in case I write something favoring one particular team in games which can go anybody's side. The main culprit of the game would be the West Indian batsmen who could not pile up more than 132 runs on the board. I just condemn the WICB for not including Gayle, Sarwan, Chandrapaul etc in the playing XI for reasons best known to WICB alone. If that was one side of the coin, the other side also points fingers towards the batsmen like Barath, Bravo, Marlon Samuels etc who could have got the job done to their team.
You can take a look at the scorecard to see the bowling chart of the Bangladesh team which had just 5 bowlers bowling their full quota of 4 overs each. And, another fascinating aspect would be that every bowler from Bangladesh team returned with a wicket against his name. Perhaps! You could all blame it on the pitch they were playing on which was hosted by Bangladesh. But still, in a T20 game the pitch hardly matters whether it is the home ground to one team or not. This is truer when it comes to games involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Likewise, things were not easy for the Bangladeshi batsmen as well when they lost 7 wickets and took until the penultimate ball en route to their successful run chase of 133 on the board. That should not be a matter of worry with the game having been a 20 over affair. Still, Bangladesh have got a lot to improve with their approach not being a match winning one if not for games against West Indies, Zimbabwe and other non-test playing nations. One has to acknowledge the triple contribution of Mushfiqur Rahim who played the role of a captain, wicket keeper and match winner for Bangladesh.
It might turn out to be a Romantic's Blog in case I write something favoring one particular team in games which can go anybody's side. The main culprit of the game would be the West Indian batsmen who could not pile up more than 132 runs on the board. I just condemn the WICB for not including Gayle, Sarwan, Chandrapaul etc in the playing XI for reasons best known to WICB alone. If that was one side of the coin, the other side also points fingers towards the batsmen like Barath, Bravo, Marlon Samuels etc who could have got the job done to their team.
You can take a look at the scorecard to see the bowling chart of the Bangladesh team which had just 5 bowlers bowling their full quota of 4 overs each. And, another fascinating aspect would be that every bowler from Bangladesh team returned with a wicket against his name. Perhaps! You could all blame it on the pitch they were playing on which was hosted by Bangladesh. But still, in a T20 game the pitch hardly matters whether it is the home ground to one team or not. This is truer when it comes to games involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Likewise, things were not easy for the Bangladeshi batsmen as well when they lost 7 wickets and took until the penultimate ball en route to their successful run chase of 133 on the board. That should not be a matter of worry with the game having been a 20 over affair. Still, Bangladesh have got a lot to improve with their approach not being a match winning one if not for games against West Indies, Zimbabwe and other non-test playing nations. One has to acknowledge the triple contribution of Mushfiqur Rahim who played the role of a captain, wicket keeper and match winner for Bangladesh.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Australia to stay back
Well the winners of the world cup-India and the runners-up Sri Lanka left Bangladesh long back but, the loser in the quarter-finals will continue to stay in Bangladesh for their upcoming three match one day series starting this week. Sri Lanka last played in Bangladesh in the quarter-finals against England and India against Bangladesh in the very first encounter of the tournament. It is ironical to see the team that quit last in the tournament to have played in Bangladesh first and the team that quit second quit Bangladesh second. But, the team that lost in the quarter-finals will remain in Bangladesh.
In just a week after the world cup got over, Australia are scheduled to play Bangladesh for a three match one day series. There are no test matches coming up between the teams mentioned and neither a T20 game. One has to think of the reasons for having such a bilateral series so soon and involving Bangladesh and Australia. The reason can well be thought of to be that all (including the ICC) expected Australia to win the world cup this time as well and with Bangladesh hosting the trophy, a small bilateral series can be held mid-way for a week's time.
Australia's bilateral series against Bangladesh will end just a day after the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League would have begun. This means that only the players who have retired from playing international cricket for Australia will be seen making it big (may be) in this year's IPL. The list includes Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Shaun Marsh etc to mention a few. With that being a long way to go about, the talks can be restricted to Australia's tour of Bangladesh or Australia's continuance of the world cup. I just can't guess what would be going on in the minds of Aussies.
Aussies unexpectedly lost to India in the quarter-finals of the world cup and their zest for a thrash can well be understood. Though their days of glory have passed away, players like Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mike Hussey etc all continue to dominate with the bat with Mitchell Johnson ding it with the ball. And, with all anger against the sub-continent nations put together by the Aussies, one has to nothing but pity the Bangladeshis. Bangladesh are the only nation from the sub-continent not to have faced Australia in the world cup. Australia will definitely avenge their loss to India, Pakistan and Sri lanka against Bangladesh.
In just a week after the world cup got over, Australia are scheduled to play Bangladesh for a three match one day series. There are no test matches coming up between the teams mentioned and neither a T20 game. One has to think of the reasons for having such a bilateral series so soon and involving Bangladesh and Australia. The reason can well be thought of to be that all (including the ICC) expected Australia to win the world cup this time as well and with Bangladesh hosting the trophy, a small bilateral series can be held mid-way for a week's time.
Australia's bilateral series against Bangladesh will end just a day after the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League would have begun. This means that only the players who have retired from playing international cricket for Australia will be seen making it big (may be) in this year's IPL. The list includes Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Shaun Marsh etc to mention a few. With that being a long way to go about, the talks can be restricted to Australia's tour of Bangladesh or Australia's continuance of the world cup. I just can't guess what would be going on in the minds of Aussies.
Aussies unexpectedly lost to India in the quarter-finals of the world cup and their zest for a thrash can well be understood. Though their days of glory have passed away, players like Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mike Hussey etc all continue to dominate with the bat with Mitchell Johnson ding it with the ball. And, with all anger against the sub-continent nations put together by the Aussies, one has to nothing but pity the Bangladeshis. Bangladesh are the only nation from the sub-continent not to have faced Australia in the world cup. Australia will definitely avenge their loss to India, Pakistan and Sri lanka against Bangladesh.
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Great hosts-Bangladesh!
Well I wish like Pakistan, had even Bangladesh been stripped off its hosts' status, that would not have been a bad decision at all by any means. By no means are Bangladesh justifying their being the co-hosts along with India and Sri Lanka. For the second time in the tournament, Bangladesh were bowled out for a score less than 100. The first one was against West Indies when they were bowled out for 58 runs at their home ground. This time, Bangladesh did slightly better to see them end their score by another 20 runs on the board. The only reason for critics to go silent.
Even in that match against the West Indies, Bangladesh had absolutely no reasons to fare so badly taking into account the caliber of the West Indies team who are yet to win against a decent opposition till date with a match against due. On the other hand, Bangladesh did well in the match against England where they beat them by 2 wickets and then in the first encounter against India where though Bangladesh lost, they gave in a tough fight to the co-hosts India where they didn't lose all ten wickets and scored 283 runs on the board losing by 87 runs.
In yesterday's game against South Africa, though hardly anybody would have expected them to win, at least a few of them would have expected Bangladesh to put up a tough fight. Another match that would be worth citing here would be the one against Ireland where both the contestants were equally competitive, with wins against England and Holland. With this loss, Bangladesh end their campaign with three wins, equal to West Indies who have wins against Holland, Ireland and Bangladesh. These were obvious wins for a test playing nation like the West Indies. However, their big game is due against India later this week.
Similarly, India has had wins against Ireland, Bangladesh and Netherlands which is also quite obvious. Both of them have their big game to come. But, the scorecard of yesterday's game might make someone laugh when only one batsman from Bangladesh happened to score more then 10 runs and making it more worse was that even the number of extra deliveries bowled by the South African bowlers ended at 8 which was 2 less than the speculated figure. This was South Africa's second 200+ margin victory after their thrashing of Holland at Mohali. Concluding the post, Bangladesh should be glad that the Proteas didn't cross the 300 run mark like India.
Even in that match against the West Indies, Bangladesh had absolutely no reasons to fare so badly taking into account the caliber of the West Indies team who are yet to win against a decent opposition till date with a match against due. On the other hand, Bangladesh did well in the match against England where they beat them by 2 wickets and then in the first encounter against India where though Bangladesh lost, they gave in a tough fight to the co-hosts India where they didn't lose all ten wickets and scored 283 runs on the board losing by 87 runs.
In yesterday's game against South Africa, though hardly anybody would have expected them to win, at least a few of them would have expected Bangladesh to put up a tough fight. Another match that would be worth citing here would be the one against Ireland where both the contestants were equally competitive, with wins against England and Holland. With this loss, Bangladesh end their campaign with three wins, equal to West Indies who have wins against Holland, Ireland and Bangladesh. These were obvious wins for a test playing nation like the West Indies. However, their big game is due against India later this week.
Similarly, India has had wins against Ireland, Bangladesh and Netherlands which is also quite obvious. Both of them have their big game to come. But, the scorecard of yesterday's game might make someone laugh when only one batsman from Bangladesh happened to score more then 10 runs and making it more worse was that even the number of extra deliveries bowled by the South African bowlers ended at 8 which was 2 less than the speculated figure. This was South Africa's second 200+ margin victory after their thrashing of Holland at Mohali. Concluding the post, Bangladesh should be glad that the Proteas didn't cross the 300 run mark like India.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Victory no 3 for Bangladesh
Well if one can take pains and go through the points table of the ongoing ICC world cup, you would be glad or rather surprised that Bangladesh are now standing at number four behind India, South Africa and England which sees them ahead of the West Indies after their game against Netherlands yesterday at Chittagong. Bangladesh now have wins against England, Ireland and the Netherlands off-late. This can see them through to the quarter-finals along with India and South Africa who would be definite contestants. Teams between whom a tie would break would be West Indies and England along with Bangladesh.
With England having lost to Bangladesh and Ireland, their chances fall comparatively slim, but considering their win against South Africa and a tie against India, West Indies would be in trouble whether they will make it to the quarter-finals or not. In case Bangladesh make it to the second round, they would be doing so at the cost of West Indies to a greater extent or England to a little extent. With England due to play the West Indies, their hope lies in a balance one can say. West Indies though have failed in the past; nothing can be said about their match against England.
Coming to the match between Netherlands and Bangladesh, it was a well fought victory for Bangladesh and rather an expected one. They were playing on their home soil and at the same time playing a team that is yet to win a match in this world cup. They have done it in the past against England and Ireland against whom they were not termed favorites. They had lost to Ireland in their previous encounter and against England, one can see the result of under estimating their opposition. Holland as usual crashed once again but with a better performance compared to the ones against RSA.
There was a batsman from the Netherlands side who could post an unbeaten half century when Ryan ten Doeschate ended up with 53*. They came close to playing 50 overs though they fell short by 4 overs but the runs scored were similar-which guaranteed them on the losing side needless to say. They had the Bangladesh on the naught when their opener-Tamim Iqbal lost his wicket in the fourth ball of the innings. The Bangladesh innings saw just one six compared to the two hit by the Dutch batsmen. Though such comparisons hardly convince the losing team, it feels much better. Doesn't it?
With England having lost to Bangladesh and Ireland, their chances fall comparatively slim, but considering their win against South Africa and a tie against India, West Indies would be in trouble whether they will make it to the quarter-finals or not. In case Bangladesh make it to the second round, they would be doing so at the cost of West Indies to a greater extent or England to a little extent. With England due to play the West Indies, their hope lies in a balance one can say. West Indies though have failed in the past; nothing can be said about their match against England.
Coming to the match between Netherlands and Bangladesh, it was a well fought victory for Bangladesh and rather an expected one. They were playing on their home soil and at the same time playing a team that is yet to win a match in this world cup. They have done it in the past against England and Ireland against whom they were not termed favorites. They had lost to Ireland in their previous encounter and against England, one can see the result of under estimating their opposition. Holland as usual crashed once again but with a better performance compared to the ones against RSA.
There was a batsman from the Netherlands side who could post an unbeaten half century when Ryan ten Doeschate ended up with 53*. They came close to playing 50 overs though they fell short by 4 overs but the runs scored were similar-which guaranteed them on the losing side needless to say. They had the Bangladesh on the naught when their opener-Tamim Iqbal lost his wicket in the fourth ball of the innings. The Bangladesh innings saw just one six compared to the two hit by the Dutch batsmen. Though such comparisons hardly convince the losing team, it feels much better. Doesn't it?
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Beware India!
Well for the second time in a world cup, India faced Bangladesh yesterday and the result was slightly better compared to what it was four years ago at West Indies where India lost the match by 5 wickets to attain a much win situation with matches against Sri Lanka and Bermuda still to go. Well that was four years down the lane and an unforgettable one for team India and Bangladesh as well but for the right reasons like India. In yesterday's game, India on the outlook looks as though they've got everything right until the end. But, my opinion stands otherwise.
India no doubt did everything right from the start with Virender Sehwag's another 175 by an Indian batsman knock but in a different situation compared to Kapil Dev's. A score of 370 on the board and a target of 371 no doubt speaks for itself. But, a margin of just 87 runs with such a huge target on the board also speaks for the lackluster in the bowling department. Finally, the Indian bowlers could not even take all ten Bangladeshi wickets. The Indian bowlers could take only 9 Bangladeshi wickets. India had a tough task defending a huge target in its very 1st encounter.
One can go through India's match against Sri Lanka in the 1999 world cup where India first posted a massive target of 373 on the board and on the other hand did the same with the ball as well by getting the defending champions for 216 with the margin of victory being 157 runs. And, this time, Bangladesh was much worse outfit compared to Sri Lanka in 1999 that consisted of Chaminda Vass, Muralitharan, Jayasuriya, Desilva etc. Despite the presence of the experienced bowlers like Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, a total of 283/9 by Bangladesh is far from satisfactory one can say.
At one stage of the match, it was as though Bangladesh would do another upset on team India when at one stage they were 56/1 at the end of 7 overs with a run-rate of 8.0 an over which was followed by a 2nd wicket partnership of 73 runs and a series of scores above 30 until Mushfiqur Rahim got out. It was fascinating to see the top five Bangladeshi batsmen get into double digits despite a demanding target set forth by India. It was the lower middle order and the tail end batsmen that failed for Bangladesh and spoiled their party. However, this should be a warning call for India who are to face South Africa and England in weeks to come.
India no doubt did everything right from the start with Virender Sehwag's another 175 by an Indian batsman knock but in a different situation compared to Kapil Dev's. A score of 370 on the board and a target of 371 no doubt speaks for itself. But, a margin of just 87 runs with such a huge target on the board also speaks for the lackluster in the bowling department. Finally, the Indian bowlers could not even take all ten Bangladeshi wickets. The Indian bowlers could take only 9 Bangladeshi wickets. India had a tough task defending a huge target in its very 1st encounter.
One can go through India's match against Sri Lanka in the 1999 world cup where India first posted a massive target of 373 on the board and on the other hand did the same with the ball as well by getting the defending champions for 216 with the margin of victory being 157 runs. And, this time, Bangladesh was much worse outfit compared to Sri Lanka in 1999 that consisted of Chaminda Vass, Muralitharan, Jayasuriya, Desilva etc. Despite the presence of the experienced bowlers like Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, a total of 283/9 by Bangladesh is far from satisfactory one can say.
At one stage of the match, it was as though Bangladesh would do another upset on team India when at one stage they were 56/1 at the end of 7 overs with a run-rate of 8.0 an over which was followed by a 2nd wicket partnership of 73 runs and a series of scores above 30 until Mushfiqur Rahim got out. It was fascinating to see the top five Bangladeshi batsmen get into double digits despite a demanding target set forth by India. It was the lower middle order and the tail end batsmen that failed for Bangladesh and spoiled their party. However, this should be a warning call for India who are to face South Africa and England in weeks to come.
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Rashid Latif targets history
Well if at all the present Afghanistan coach Rashid Latif is to be believed, he targets a test status for the team which he is coaching. This would indeed be a history if at all it happens to be true. There have been teams like Kenya and Ireland in recent times and in the past as well who have shown exceptional performance in international cricket considering their standards in international cricket. Kenya have managed a world cup semi final in 2003, something which teams like West Indies, England, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa couldn't in that edition. But, still Kenya is not being considered for tests.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
What can you say about Australia?
Well Australia's performance against Bangladesh in yesterday's match of the world T20 was very much below par compared to what was expected out of them and against the opposition they were facing. Australia's score against Bangladesh at Bridgetown was 141 which was too less for reasons mentioned above. The total should have been a minimum of 180. But, one can hardly criticize the Aussies for having won their major battle against Pakistan earlier this week at Gros Islet by 34 runs. There should have been a thrashing by Australia and not just a formal reply. A total of 141 was something which even Bangladesh would have chased.Bangladesh has a history of chasing down a total in excess of 160 against West Indies in the inaugural edition of the world T20 in 2007. Anyways, coming to the match, a thorough look at the scorecard suggests that the notable score from Australia happened to be from a number 7 batsman in Mike Hussey who scored 47. One can guess that the pitch favored the bowlers where batting was definitely a challenge and then, there were the likes of David Warner, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke who could have done much with the bat. But, all that they could do was not score above 16 runs.
The second highest score from the Australian innings was from Warner and Clarke who scored 16. Rest of the batsmen who made it to the crease got out scoring single digit scores. The Bangladesh captain - Shakib Al Hasan did not try more than 5 bowlers when he got all of them bowl their complete quota. As said above, the pitch never seemed to give any room to the batsmen, as a result of which the Bangladeshi innings saw two wickets fall with a score of 4 on the board with their openers getting out for a duck and the third batsman getting out for a score which was the next best thing to a duck.
But, though Bangladesh lost the game eventually, their team effort was better than that of Australia. There were four players who scored above ten and two of them above 20 unlike Australia where only Hussey scored above 20. Nannes had a ball when he had four wickets and was the most successful bowler of the match. But, with no prizes for bowlers in that game, the obvious choice for the man of the match award was none other than Mike Hussey who stood there at the crease with 6 batsmen leaving him single. With this, Australia for the 1st time have won both matches in the pool stage.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
England complicates its tour of Bangladesh
Even when the England team was supposed to face the Aussies for the Ashes last year, they wouldn't have broken their head over the issue as they are found doing for the series against Bangladesh. One thing that can be thought of to have caused tension among English players is the fact that they cannot feature in the initial phase of the Indian Premier League all because of the tour of Bangladesh which would hardly be on the top of anyone's agenda. But, much to anyone's surprise, this has been the biggest headache for the England team.
The first test between the two countries is due to start on 12th which is just a couple of days later. But, the worries regarding the same have started a week back when there were injuries to Graham Onions who had to sit out of the warm up match against the Bangladesh A. These test matches were needless to be played with no team in the past playing a warm up game against and in Bangladesh. It has been Bangladesh who might have played a warm up game on its tour to that country before the real challenge would have begun.
This was also the case in the recently concluded test series between Bangladesh and India where Bangladesh was a common factor and so were they hosting India. Even there, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had problems in selecting the final squad combining eleven payers, with Rahul Dravid having to miss the 3rd and 4th days of play and Dhoni himself missing out in the first test owing to a back injury. For most of the countries, touring and playing Bangladesh is a nightmare for, the inclusion of senior players strips the team of some match practice to young legs.
And, in case young legs are included, there is hardly any guarantee of them putting up a better performance and in case they fail to do so, that would be the worst nightmare. Some of the players whose names have hardly been heard like Tim Bresnan (who has so far played just 2 tests), Michael Carberry (who is yet to play a test match) and Steven Finn - who also has a fate similar to Michael Carberry if not for the fact that he is aged just 20 and can be expected to have a good talent in him are in line for the test series against Bangladesh. I wish the England selection committee brings back Michael Vaughan, Ashley Giles etc who retired with still some fuel left in their tank, so that England don't get into the news for wrong reasons.
The first test between the two countries is due to start on 12th which is just a couple of days later. But, the worries regarding the same have started a week back when there were injuries to Graham Onions who had to sit out of the warm up match against the Bangladesh A. These test matches were needless to be played with no team in the past playing a warm up game against and in Bangladesh. It has been Bangladesh who might have played a warm up game on its tour to that country before the real challenge would have begun.
This was also the case in the recently concluded test series between Bangladesh and India where Bangladesh was a common factor and so were they hosting India. Even there, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had problems in selecting the final squad combining eleven payers, with Rahul Dravid having to miss the 3rd and 4th days of play and Dhoni himself missing out in the first test owing to a back injury. For most of the countries, touring and playing Bangladesh is a nightmare for, the inclusion of senior players strips the team of some match practice to young legs.
And, in case young legs are included, there is hardly any guarantee of them putting up a better performance and in case they fail to do so, that would be the worst nightmare. Some of the players whose names have hardly been heard like Tim Bresnan (who has so far played just 2 tests), Michael Carberry (who is yet to play a test match) and Steven Finn - who also has a fate similar to Michael Carberry if not for the fact that he is aged just 20 and can be expected to have a good talent in him are in line for the test series against Bangladesh. I wish the England selection committee brings back Michael Vaughan, Ashley Giles etc who retired with still some fuel left in their tank, so that England don't get into the news for wrong reasons.
Saturday, 6 March 2010
England saved!
Finally, England could whitewash Bangladesh who are at present the only team that is showing some sort of improvement compared to all other teams. England has to consider themselves lucky enough so that they have not yet lost to any minnow team like Bangladesh no matter how bad they have been. When England was expected to post a total in excess of 300, they were 16 runs short of the same in the 3rd and the final one dayer at Chittagong. For the first time in the three match tournament, there were as many as 7 sixes in the England innings.
This may also be partly due to underestimating the Bangladesh team to be the same that it was some four years down the lane. Bangladesh have been found to have improved over the years much to anyone's surprise and more so when it comes to their home record though they have not yet tasted success of any sort. In the recently concluded tri series involving Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, they despite losing all the games that they played, put up a tough fight by bringing the opposition close to 50 overs en route to their successful run chase against Bangladesh.
This was the first time in the series that England batted first. Thanks to Bangladesh who won the toss and chose to field first. It was a good planning from the Bangladeshi side no matter what the result of the match had to say. Eight out of the eleven Bangladeshi batsmen who made it to the crease came out scoring double figured scores. And if the number ten and number eleven batsmen in Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain respectively are excluded from the list there was just one batsman whose score was less than 10. Added to this was that Bangladesh didn't lose all ten wickets.
It has now days become a fashion for almost all the teams to bring in 7 to 8 bowlers with just one or two bowlers bowling their complete quota of 10 overs. And the fashion also has its aftermath when most of the captains make wrong decisions by tossing the ball to the wrong bowler who in turn makes a mess not only off his own bowling but also of his team. And, this time also there was a bowler from the England side in Ajmal Shahzad who bowled 9 overs giving away 55 runs at the rate of 6.11 an over.
This may also be partly due to underestimating the Bangladesh team to be the same that it was some four years down the lane. Bangladesh have been found to have improved over the years much to anyone's surprise and more so when it comes to their home record though they have not yet tasted success of any sort. In the recently concluded tri series involving Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, they despite losing all the games that they played, put up a tough fight by bringing the opposition close to 50 overs en route to their successful run chase against Bangladesh.
This was the first time in the series that England batted first. Thanks to Bangladesh who won the toss and chose to field first. It was a good planning from the Bangladeshi side no matter what the result of the match had to say. Eight out of the eleven Bangladeshi batsmen who made it to the crease came out scoring double figured scores. And if the number ten and number eleven batsmen in Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain respectively are excluded from the list there was just one batsman whose score was less than 10. Added to this was that Bangladesh didn't lose all ten wickets.
It has now days become a fashion for almost all the teams to bring in 7 to 8 bowlers with just one or two bowlers bowling their complete quota of 10 overs. And the fashion also has its aftermath when most of the captains make wrong decisions by tossing the ball to the wrong bowler who in turn makes a mess not only off his own bowling but also of his team. And, this time also there was a bowler from the England side in Ajmal Shahzad who bowled 9 overs giving away 55 runs at the rate of 6.11 an over.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Save English cricket campaign
As I mentioned in one of my previous posts that England are at present the only team not to have lost a game to any of the non test playing nation and also against Bangladesh. But, with every encounter against a minnow like Bangladesh, England are found coming up with a performance that is just slightly better than a defeat. None of the remaining 8 nations would have as many close encounters against minnow teams as England might have had. May be West Indies could well be excluded from the list. This is the 2nd time in a row that England are facing such a drought in one day cricket against Bangladesh.
England won the 2nd one dayer against Bangladesh by just 2 wickets which speaks for itself regarding the caliber of the English team. And the victory was possible due to the fact that there was a batsman in Morgan on side who held the nerves firm for England despite wickets falling from the other end. Without a batsman on one end, victory would have been far from question for the English team. There were five batsmen from the English side who returned back to the pavilion after scoring single digit scores. The English side lost 8 wickets compared to 6 from the Bangladeshi side.
Such a scenario occurs in games where there are two strong teams battling it out there. Like it happened in the match between Australia and Pakistan in the group stage of the ICC Champions trophy last year. This is in a way worse than a defeat when a team that is expected to win in a one sided manner gasps for the same though I have cited this as 2nd best to defeat earlier here. One has to question whether it was England indeed who made it to the semi finals of the ICC Champions trophy last year and were they the ones who beat the Proteas 2-1 on their home ground.
Had it been the Bangladesh who had won the match in this fashion, the world of cricket would have been in full praise for Bangladesh but this may not be the case with England. The only positives for England lied in the area where the man of the match award went to Eoin Morgan who belonged to the England side unlike in the last game where the man of the match was a Bangladeshi batsmen in Tamim Iqbal. And some mature decision from Alistair Cook meant in going in for 3 bowlers who bowled 10 overs each unlike the lone bowler who bowed 10 over in the first encounter.
England won the 2nd one dayer against Bangladesh by just 2 wickets which speaks for itself regarding the caliber of the English team. And the victory was possible due to the fact that there was a batsman in Morgan on side who held the nerves firm for England despite wickets falling from the other end. Without a batsman on one end, victory would have been far from question for the English team. There were five batsmen from the English side who returned back to the pavilion after scoring single digit scores. The English side lost 8 wickets compared to 6 from the Bangladeshi side.
Such a scenario occurs in games where there are two strong teams battling it out there. Like it happened in the match between Australia and Pakistan in the group stage of the ICC Champions trophy last year. This is in a way worse than a defeat when a team that is expected to win in a one sided manner gasps for the same though I have cited this as 2nd best to defeat earlier here. One has to question whether it was England indeed who made it to the semi finals of the ICC Champions trophy last year and were they the ones who beat the Proteas 2-1 on their home ground.
Had it been the Bangladesh who had won the match in this fashion, the world of cricket would have been in full praise for Bangladesh but this may not be the case with England. The only positives for England lied in the area where the man of the match award went to Eoin Morgan who belonged to the England side unlike in the last game where the man of the match was a Bangladeshi batsmen in Tamim Iqbal. And some mature decision from Alistair Cook meant in going in for 3 bowlers who bowled 10 overs each unlike the lone bowler who bowed 10 over in the first encounter.
Monday, 1 March 2010
A perfect match for Bangladesh
At present, England is the only team in world cricket not has had a loss against any non test playing nation. Although they have lost to Zimbabwe earlier, those were the times when Zimbabwe used to play test cricket. However, if the first one day international between England and Bangladesh, if not for the end results, England had nothing more to take home. All that England could manage was to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The entire English innings could not produce a single shot outside the ground while Bangladesh could manage the same on 3 occasions. Anyways, it is not the number of sixes that determine the caliber of a team.
At the end of the game, the man of the match was awarded to the Bangladeshi batsmen in Tamim Iqbal for his splendid 125 that included 3 huge sixes and 13 ordinary hits to the fence. It was Tamim Iqbal who was the lone six hitter in the entire match and was the ultimate choice for the man of the match award. England had to rely upon the performance of the entire team for a win against Bangladesh, which should have seen them do it with just a single player taking the game away from the hosts. Not to mention that Bangladesh have attained a better status as hosts in the recent times.
At the same time, in the bowling department, the England captain Paul Collingwood had to go in for 7 bowlers, with only one bowler in Graeme Swann bowling his full quota of 10 overs. Even Ryan Sidebottom who is a frontline bowler in the English side was given the ball to bowl just 8 overs. It is just not understandable whether Collingwood did that in an attempt to give his bowlers like Pietersen some bowling practice or did Collingwood fear a major upset that would see England as well in the list of other teams to have lost to the minnows atleast once is not evident.
And if the bowling department of the Bangladesh side is considered, it was a one man show with Naeem Islam bagging 3 out of the 4 wickets that fell. There were 3 Bangladeshi bowlers who bowled their full quota of 10 overs in Shakib Al Hasan, Abdur Razzak and Naeem Islam as against the lone bowler from the English side. A better performance from the Bangladeshi side would have meant in a team approach towards the game rather than a single guy turning up for his team. But, it was only a two men show that led Bangladesh with Tamim Iqbal leading the batting and Naeem Islam leading the bowling. Whatever, Bangladesh's strategy is found working towards England.
At the end of the game, the man of the match was awarded to the Bangladeshi batsmen in Tamim Iqbal for his splendid 125 that included 3 huge sixes and 13 ordinary hits to the fence. It was Tamim Iqbal who was the lone six hitter in the entire match and was the ultimate choice for the man of the match award. England had to rely upon the performance of the entire team for a win against Bangladesh, which should have seen them do it with just a single player taking the game away from the hosts. Not to mention that Bangladesh have attained a better status as hosts in the recent times.
At the same time, in the bowling department, the England captain Paul Collingwood had to go in for 7 bowlers, with only one bowler in Graeme Swann bowling his full quota of 10 overs. Even Ryan Sidebottom who is a frontline bowler in the English side was given the ball to bowl just 8 overs. It is just not understandable whether Collingwood did that in an attempt to give his bowlers like Pietersen some bowling practice or did Collingwood fear a major upset that would see England as well in the list of other teams to have lost to the minnows atleast once is not evident.
And if the bowling department of the Bangladesh side is considered, it was a one man show with Naeem Islam bagging 3 out of the 4 wickets that fell. There were 3 Bangladeshi bowlers who bowled their full quota of 10 overs in Shakib Al Hasan, Abdur Razzak and Naeem Islam as against the lone bowler from the English side. A better performance from the Bangladeshi side would have meant in a team approach towards the game rather than a single guy turning up for his team. But, it was only a two men show that led Bangladesh with Tamim Iqbal leading the batting and Naeem Islam leading the bowling. Whatever, Bangladesh's strategy is found working towards England.
Friday, 19 February 2010
For the 2nd time NZ score 258/5 in a day
Well Bangladesh enjoyed each and every moment in the first and the only test match that they played against New Zealand here in Hamilton. First, some sort of underestimation from the New Zealand side sees them making fools out of themselves after they lose 5 quick wickets for a score of just 158 on the board. And then, some late firing from Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill sees New Zealand piling up a total in excess of 500 in their first innings. And then, Bangladesh also follows suit when they hammer 400+ and in the process avoid follow on and with it the innings defeat.
Now, on the 4th day's play, New Zealand take no chances and do what they are supposed to. They go in for a quickfire scoring when they end their second innings after declaring with the scoreboard reading 258/5. This is the same total that the New Zealand batsmen were found putting up in their first innings of the match on day 1. However, their batting was not that bad like they had in the first innings. Though New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals, their body language very well showed that they had full control of the match and going wrong by any chance was completely ruled out.
Out of the 5 New Zealand wickets that fell in the second innings, three of them were run outs and moreover were set up by the Kiwi batsmen themselves. It was their hurry to keep the scoreboard ticking which saw them lose the battle with the stumps. The Bangladeshi bowlers could not stop McIntosh from striking 3 huge ones out of the ground. It was a bonus for Bangladesh to have had 5 Kiwi batsmen back in the pavilion. This once again shows that Bangladesh can cash out only from the mistakes that the opponent does and not by its own effort tame the same.
And later on, the New Zealand bowlers also followed suit which saw them bag 5 wickets with the scoreboard reading 88 runs. With an innings win out of question for the kiwis in the match, atleast a huge margin in terms of runs would be satisfactory for them I suppose. With still 317 runs needed for Bangladesh for an unlikely victory, New Zealand would have hoped for another test match in the tournament so that they undo the mistake they were found doing in the first and the lone test match at Hamilton. And, Bangladesh should stop hoping for the opposition to fare badly which they can cash out.
Now, on the 4th day's play, New Zealand take no chances and do what they are supposed to. They go in for a quickfire scoring when they end their second innings after declaring with the scoreboard reading 258/5. This is the same total that the New Zealand batsmen were found putting up in their first innings of the match on day 1. However, their batting was not that bad like they had in the first innings. Though New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals, their body language very well showed that they had full control of the match and going wrong by any chance was completely ruled out.
Out of the 5 New Zealand wickets that fell in the second innings, three of them were run outs and moreover were set up by the Kiwi batsmen themselves. It was their hurry to keep the scoreboard ticking which saw them lose the battle with the stumps. The Bangladeshi bowlers could not stop McIntosh from striking 3 huge ones out of the ground. It was a bonus for Bangladesh to have had 5 Kiwi batsmen back in the pavilion. This once again shows that Bangladesh can cash out only from the mistakes that the opponent does and not by its own effort tame the same.
And later on, the New Zealand bowlers also followed suit which saw them bag 5 wickets with the scoreboard reading 88 runs. With an innings win out of question for the kiwis in the match, atleast a huge margin in terms of runs would be satisfactory for them I suppose. With still 317 runs needed for Bangladesh for an unlikely victory, New Zealand would have hoped for another test match in the tournament so that they undo the mistake they were found doing in the first and the lone test match at Hamilton. And, Bangladesh should stop hoping for the opposition to fare badly which they can cash out.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Bangladesh avoid innings defeat
Well, this is one area where Bangladesh has found itself doing in the recent past. Bangladesh despite long the test series with a whitewash, irrespective of whether it is played at home or outside, they are found to give their opposition a tough fight. This was evident from the fact that they despite losing both the test matches against India last month never had an innings defeat whatsoever. This was more so after their series whitewash over West Indies which saw Bangladesh notching their first test series win. That was also the 1st time Bangladesh had a test win against a team other than Zimbabwe.
However, every time Bangladesh go out to play test cricket, they are aided by the opposition who at most of the times take Bangladesh for granted and end up paying the price which is the difference between an innings win and a just win. This is also the difference between a comfortable win and a gasping win. And, this time as well the situation was no different when New Zealand, after being put into bat by Bangladesh ended their first day's play with just over 250 on the board. Luckily, as it always happens McCullum and Guptill fought back before it would have been all over for NZ.
However, if the 3rd day's play is considered, once again New Zealand will have to curse themselves for being at such a bad situation when Bangladeshi batsmen scored runs at will and not only put up a total in excess of 400 but also maintained a run rate in excess of 4 an over, which is a pretty decent one as far the standard of test cricket is considered. There was also a Bangladeshi batsmen in Mahmudullah who scored 115 runs. Bangladesh had put up a score greater than what the Kiwi batsmen could with the loss of 5 wickets. By the time the 5th wicket for Bangladesh was down, the scoreboard read 179 which is greater than 158 that NZ could manage.
This would not have been what the New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori would have been looking for after his team put up 553 runs on the board. All Vettori would have wanted is to bowl out Bangladesh for a score less than 200 and impose a follow-on and get them out soon once again so that the match can be finished with a day to spare. Can anyone of you believe it- it was a number 8 batsmen in Mahmudullah who put up a century and took his team to a commanding total as far as the standards of test cricket in Bangladesh is considered.
However, every time Bangladesh go out to play test cricket, they are aided by the opposition who at most of the times take Bangladesh for granted and end up paying the price which is the difference between an innings win and a just win. This is also the difference between a comfortable win and a gasping win. And, this time as well the situation was no different when New Zealand, after being put into bat by Bangladesh ended their first day's play with just over 250 on the board. Luckily, as it always happens McCullum and Guptill fought back before it would have been all over for NZ.
However, if the 3rd day's play is considered, once again New Zealand will have to curse themselves for being at such a bad situation when Bangladeshi batsmen scored runs at will and not only put up a total in excess of 400 but also maintained a run rate in excess of 4 an over, which is a pretty decent one as far the standard of test cricket is considered. There was also a Bangladeshi batsmen in Mahmudullah who scored 115 runs. Bangladesh had put up a score greater than what the Kiwi batsmen could with the loss of 5 wickets. By the time the 5th wicket for Bangladesh was down, the scoreboard read 179 which is greater than 158 that NZ could manage.
This would not have been what the New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori would have been looking for after his team put up 553 runs on the board. All Vettori would have wanted is to bowl out Bangladesh for a score less than 200 and impose a follow-on and get them out soon once again so that the match can be finished with a day to spare. Can anyone of you believe it- it was a number 8 batsmen in Mahmudullah who put up a century and took his team to a commanding total as far as the standards of test cricket in Bangladesh is considered.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
New Zealand get back into the game
By the end of the 1st day's play at Hamilton, New Zealand were 5 down with a not so decent total on the board. New Zealand ended the first day's play with 258 runs on the board, which at one stage saw them reeling at 158/5. Following this, New Zealand was left with just 2 batsmen who could rewrite their fortunes in Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill. And, this could have well been anticipated to be done by a team that is facing Bangladesh on its home ground. This does not make a difference where the match is played, for even at Bangladesh the result would have been no different.
The batsmen who could promise were Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum who did exactly what they were entitled to and expected to do. Both the batsmen put up a 339 run partnership for the 6th wicket which can now guarantee a win for New Zealand. And, in case fortunes swing for New Zealand, they can even expect an innings win. The duo's score accounted for almost 68 percent of the total score of 553 put up on the board by New Zealand. All that the Bangladeshi fielders could do was to see the ball hovering over the ropes continuously as a mute spectator.
Finally, New Zealand didn't take any chances and declared after both Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum left the crease, realizing the fact that further delay can only add more to the number of wickets that have fallen and may be with a handful of runs that can in no better way be of any difference to the match. Darryl Tuffey and Jeetan Patel batted as though they were ending a limited overs game in its slog overs. Tuffey and Patel ended up scoring 31 and 24 respectively, with strike rates of 81 and 100 respectively. However, I wish New Zealand should have betted for a few more overs that could have seen Tuffey going past 50 runs.
And, after the Bangladeshi innings started, may be that the Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori might have kicked himself for declaring the innings which was a batsmen's paradise. The Bangladeshi innings was also no less when it came to some good scoring and free hitting. Bangladesh ended their day by putting up 87 runs on the board for the loss of just 1 wicket with Tamim Iqbal remaining not out on 56. All has to be blamed on the first day's play where New Zealand were found underestimating the Bangladeshi bowlers and took them seriously only after half the side was washed out.
The batsmen who could promise were Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum who did exactly what they were entitled to and expected to do. Both the batsmen put up a 339 run partnership for the 6th wicket which can now guarantee a win for New Zealand. And, in case fortunes swing for New Zealand, they can even expect an innings win. The duo's score accounted for almost 68 percent of the total score of 553 put up on the board by New Zealand. All that the Bangladeshi fielders could do was to see the ball hovering over the ropes continuously as a mute spectator.
Finally, New Zealand didn't take any chances and declared after both Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum left the crease, realizing the fact that further delay can only add more to the number of wickets that have fallen and may be with a handful of runs that can in no better way be of any difference to the match. Darryl Tuffey and Jeetan Patel batted as though they were ending a limited overs game in its slog overs. Tuffey and Patel ended up scoring 31 and 24 respectively, with strike rates of 81 and 100 respectively. However, I wish New Zealand should have betted for a few more overs that could have seen Tuffey going past 50 runs.
And, after the Bangladeshi innings started, may be that the Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori might have kicked himself for declaring the innings which was a batsmen's paradise. The Bangladeshi innings was also no less when it came to some good scoring and free hitting. Bangladesh ended their day by putting up 87 runs on the board for the loss of just 1 wicket with Tamim Iqbal remaining not out on 56. All has to be blamed on the first day's play where New Zealand were found underestimating the Bangladeshi bowlers and took them seriously only after half the side was washed out.
Friday, 12 February 2010
Bangladesh better than West Indies
Well as the series between New Zealand and Bangladesh is found to progress, Bangladesh looks like putting a step forward towards a better performance which is actually not the case. For the first time in the series, Bangladesh posted a total in excess of 200 when they score 241 runs in the 3rd and final one dayer against New Zealand. This was also the 2nd time that they played their complete quota of 50 overs that they were scheduled to play. Previously, Bangladesh came back from nowhere in the 2nd one dayer and went on to play 50 overs at Dunedin.
Bangladesh were at one stage 46 runs for the loss of 6 wickets and went on to put up 183 runs on the board which would have raised a lot of eye brows when no one would have expected them to bat till the 300th legal delivery was bowled and more than 175 runs scored. Of course, there were extras also that contributed to Bangladesh's success. The Kiwi captain- Daniel Vettori bought in 7 of his bowlers to set things right which would no doubt be just to give his bowlers some bowling practice with the match result right in front of him.
Surprisingly, there was a Bangladeshi batsman in Imrul Kayes who notched up a century which is a celebration as far as cricket in Bangladesh is considered. For, if the entire history of Bangladesh cricket is considered, they have just a handful of players who have centuries against their names in international cricket. On the other hand, there was also a Bangladeshi bowler in Shakib Al Hasan who could pick up 4 New Zealand batsman returning with figures of 4/33 from the ten overs that were allotted to him. However the remaining Bangladeshi bowlers could not scalp more than one New Zealand batsman which is a different issue.
Though New Zealand eventually eventually won the match and with it the series as well, Bangladesh need not have had to consider themselves to be dejected whatsoever. New Zealand lost 7 wickets en-route to their successful chase of 242 which should have been 4 wickets at the most if at all critics is anywhere to go by. If the performance of the Bangladesh team is considered, they have fared better than the West Indies team who are in tour of Australia and have failed to get past the 200 run mark or even play their complete quota of 50 overs with three games being passed by.
Bangladesh were at one stage 46 runs for the loss of 6 wickets and went on to put up 183 runs on the board which would have raised a lot of eye brows when no one would have expected them to bat till the 300th legal delivery was bowled and more than 175 runs scored. Of course, there were extras also that contributed to Bangladesh's success. The Kiwi captain- Daniel Vettori bought in 7 of his bowlers to set things right which would no doubt be just to give his bowlers some bowling practice with the match result right in front of him.
Surprisingly, there was a Bangladeshi batsman in Imrul Kayes who notched up a century which is a celebration as far as cricket in Bangladesh is considered. For, if the entire history of Bangladesh cricket is considered, they have just a handful of players who have centuries against their names in international cricket. On the other hand, there was also a Bangladeshi bowler in Shakib Al Hasan who could pick up 4 New Zealand batsman returning with figures of 4/33 from the ten overs that were allotted to him. However the remaining Bangladeshi bowlers could not scalp more than one New Zealand batsman which is a different issue.
Though New Zealand eventually eventually won the match and with it the series as well, Bangladesh need not have had to consider themselves to be dejected whatsoever. New Zealand lost 7 wickets en-route to their successful chase of 242 which should have been 4 wickets at the most if at all critics is anywhere to go by. If the performance of the Bangladesh team is considered, they have fared better than the West Indies team who are in tour of Australia and have failed to get past the 200 run mark or even play their complete quota of 50 overs with three games being passed by.
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