Despite winning the series, Bangladesh’s batting remains a serious worry
With a series average of just 18.95, their top seven players had their poorest combined performance in 11 years.
The Bangladeshi team’s ODI series victory against India will always be an anomaly. While their bowlers contributed adequately, their No. 8 hitter twice saved them with two great innings. However, despite the fact that their top seven batters had their poorest collective performance in 11 years, they still prevailed 2-1. They have never batted this poorly in an ODI series victory.
The lowest top seven batting average for Bangladesh in a series victory was 31.07; this series’ 18.95 is a full 12 points higher.
A standard ODI team includes six specialist batsmen, but Bangladesh has extended their lineup to include seven, and occasionally eight, during the course of the last 15 years. The presence of all-arounders like Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah allowed them to succeed.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, their fourth all-rounder in this series, performed two crucial blows. Only Mahmudullah’s 77 in the second game among the specialist batters was noteworthy.
Litton Das, the captain, received three starts but failed to make the most of any of them. He appeared excellent in Chattogram as well, but when Mohammed Siraj was on 29, he dinked him to mid-off. Shakib remained for 43 years, yet he never gave off the impression that he intended to stay. By the 28th over of the chase, Bangladesh’s top seven had finally lost steam.
Bangladesh’s top three haven’t really given the middle order a foundation or protection, except from Litton. Najmul Hossain Shanto has an ODI batting average of 14 after 15 games despite having two fifty-scores during the T20 World Cup in Australia.
33 runs is Anamul Haque’s joint-lowest total for an ODI series in which he played at least three games. After a three-year hiatus, he rejoined the 50-over side for this, his second series. The knives may once again be out for him despite his two fifties against Zimbabwe in August.
In order to defend his team, Litton said that everyone enjoys scoring runs. “If a top-order hitter had done what Miraz did, we would have had it easy. I don’t worry about it, though. In Mirpur, there were two distinct game settings. We batted second today, but it would have been a different story if the game had been between 300 and 350 runs.
“I don’t believe there should be cause for alarm. India’s batting also failed. Such was the behaviour of the wicket. There was no use in attempting to reach 300 or 320 today because of the large chase. We intended to bat in order to win, but our aggressive cricket failed. We’ll play the same brand of attacking cricket when we have to deal with this predicament again.”
“Today’s hitting surface was favourable, but we were unable to handle the run rate pressure. This kind of game can teach you a lot. We are capable of pursuing 300 runs.”
But it’s difficult to deny that the majority of the top seven players in this series struggled. With just 14 runs from three innings, Afif Hossain finished last among the top seven. However, Mushfiqur Rahim will be the centre of attention.
Mushfiqur’s 37 runs are his lowest total since 2011 in an ODI series where he batted in the top five at least three times. He has now played four series without scoring 100 runs, scoring 77 against Zimbabwe and 96 against Afghanistan. Between those two innings against South Africa, he scored 20 runs. However, these series followed his finest bilateral performance from last year, when he scored 237 runs at 79 against Sri Lanka.
Mushfiqur’s decision to stop playing T20 Internationals after the Asia Cup may have been a sign that his abilities are waning. Although he has performed admirably in tests this year, a run of poor ODI series is hardly desirable. Litton is aware of the job Bangladesh must undertake.
He declared, “We are not the world’s top team. “In order to improve these elements, top-order batting, bowling, and fielding, we can. My missed catch of Virat Kohli on Saturday when he was on one was expensive. This kind of catch is what I’m supposed to do, I know. They would have been under a little bit more strain if I had hung onto the catch. However, development may only be attained via extensive practise.”
It hasn’t been simple to bat in tests either. With the exception of this year’s opening Test, which they famously defeated New Zealand in, they have largely struggled with consistency. Their bowling flourished in the Test series after they won the ODI series in South Africa, but their batting failed to deliver. Both at home against Sri Lanka and away in the West Indies, the same thing occurred.
The upcoming Test matches against India can follow a same pattern. During the domestic season, Mominul Haque and Mahmudul Hasan Joy struggled to score runs, while Shanto has only reached the fifty-run mark once in eight Tests this year. Shakib, Mushfiqur, and Litton will be held responsible for a lot, and Mushfiqur will once again be put under a lot of strain.
Most of Bangladesh’s home matches are played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, where the pitches are either blazing turners for Test matches or slow decks with some inconsistent bounce for white-ball cricket.
This is thought to be Bangladesh’s major disadvantage. The best chance they have of playing in conditions comparable to those at the ODI World Cup in India next year is in Chattogram. In the upcoming months, they will get more knowledge about building 300-plus totals or chasing them down, according to Litton, who made no mention of playing more games in Chattogram.
“In Mirpur, we didn’t play completely terrible cricket. True, the field wasn’t playing fairly. Today’s hitting surface was favourable, but we were unable to handle the run rate pressure.
“This kind of game has a lot to teach us. We are capable of pursuing 300 runs. India has excellent outfields and wickets, as was the case today. We’ll find our rhythm if we play more frequently, in my opinion.
To win his first series as captain, according to Litton, was a proud occasion. “I am pleased with how everyone supported me. In the field, I never experienced pressure. There is nothing better than winning a series as a new captain. It wasn’t bad, but it would have been better if we had also won today.
“I was confident in my squad when I gave the first press conference. I responded “absolutely” when asked if I wanted the prize. It is only reasonable to want to win such a significant series as both a captain and a player. Nothing is more significant than a series victory.”
In order for batters to regain their mojo, which many say has been lost since 2016, when the team management initially chose to opt for roaring turners in practically all formats, it makes sense to let them play on pitches like Chattogram. But the current team management must also consider their options, such as whether to give batters some degree of stability or accumulate victories. The good news, maybe, is that the series victory will boost their confidence and enable them to consider the struggling batters in advance.