Is Bangladesh Losing the Plot Again?

If you consider the graph of the Bangladesh cricket team, it would show an unimaginable inconsistency. In their good times they have beaten strong teams such as India, Pakistan, Australia and West Indies. But they have also succumbed to facile losses. One of the brightest lights in Bangladesh cricket was their win against the world semi-finalists Pakistan in World Cup 1999. But in the aftermath they had many disappointing results. They also managed to beat the unbeatable Australian team (in those days) at the heaven of cricket, Lord’s. Their next notable performance in ODIs came against the fancied Indian team led by Rahul Dravid in 2007 World Cup. But after this they were again subjected to many disappointments.

Famous Win Against India in World Cup 2007

One of the highlights for Bangladesh cricket was that they were still a leader among the minnows and managed to beat Zimbabwe consistently, though the Zimbabweans were ravaged by political unrest at home. Another noteworthy achievement for Bangladeshis came under the able leadership of Shakib Al-Hasan when they defeated the depleted West Indies side in 2010. They not only won the ODI series but the test series too with an overwhelming margin of 2-0. Under Shakib Bangladesh proved to be a competent cricket team as was witnessed by New Zealand or England. Shakib’s partnership with Jamie Siddons was one of the impressive phases of Bangladesh cricket.

Shakib is and has been One of the Best Performers

In the recently concluded 2011 World Cup in India Bangladesh had some inspiring performances winning against the giant killers Ireland, fancied England and Netherlands. Though they lost their matches against India, West Indies and South Africa and thus blew the opportunity to move to the next round. Shakib not only led the team well in his tenure but he improved as an ace all-rounder too. He picked up important wickets at crucial junctures of the game and scored runs when his team needed the most. Immediately after the World Cup the Bangladesh team toured Zimbabwe, who had just come out of international hibernation. Everyone expected Shakib’s men to win the series handsomely but the team failed.  Though Bangladesh won the first two matches easily but then they seemed to have lost the art of winning and lost the series 2-3. This loss didn’t go well with the Bangladesh Board and they brought about many changes, while Jamie Siddons left, Shakib was stripped off captaincy. I feel this was a decision taken under circumstances rather than being a just decision. One failure cannot undermine the consistency Bangladesh had under Shakib. Mushfiqur Rahim was named the new skipper and Stuart Law was brought in as the new coach.

Bangla Batsmen Need To Step Up Their Game under New Regime

It is time for the new partnership to prove their worth. West Indies at present is touring Bangladesh. In the One off T20 Bangladesh got to a win by 3 wickets. West Indies batted first and got to a total of 132 for 8 with Marlon Samuels (58 off 42 balls) top scoring. Bangladesh chasing the score got to 135 for the loss of 7 wickets. The star of the game was newly appointed captain Mushfiqur Rahim who scored 41 off 26 balls and was named the Man of the Match.

Mushfiqur is the new Man in Charge

 In the 3 match ODI series West Indies bossed the proceedings. In the first ODI at Mirpur they won by a margin of 40 runs. West Indies batted first and got to a total of 298 for 4, star for the visiting side was Lendl Simmons who scored 122 off 124 balls. In reply Bangladesh managed to get to 258 for 7 in their 50 overs. Shakib Al-Hasan top scored with 67 off 58 balls for the home side. In the second ODI, West Indies again beat Bangladesh emphatically by a margin or 8 wickets. Bangladesh got to a score of 220 after batting first with Mushfiqur Rahim (69 off 109) and Nasir Hossain (50 off 54) being the impressive batsmen. West Indies chased down the total with comfort thanks to the contributions from Lendl Simmons (80 off 125 balls) and Marlon Samuels (88 off 74 balls). In the final ODI at Chittagong Bangladesh came back strongly and won the dead rubber by eight wickets.  They bowled out West Indies for 61 in 22 overs as Shakib wrecked the Windies batting with his 4 wicket haul. The winning runs were knocked off by Tamim Iqbal in 20 overs.

Lendl Simmons has Been a Thorn in the Flesh for Bangladesh

Next up is a chance for Bangladesh to redeem themselves in Test cricket. It is a week West Indian side and it would be a great chance for Bangladesh to get off to a winning start in Tests under the new reign.