Ashraful the best

[Maleeha]

Atlast Ashraful showed us a brilliant performance.No one could even think Ashraful doin 1 century with SRI LANKa.WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW.
CONGRATULATION ASHRAFUL.
I hope u will be a wonderful and excellent captain for ur team .
WISH U ALL THE BEST
U R THE BEST.
KEEP IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) :flag:

[WarWolf]

Definitely he has been the best today. But don't be so happy. He should deliver more often.

[Antora]

YES ash was definately da best today!!!!!! hope he can keep it up!!!!

[cricket_pagol]

Mushy and Ashraful are the best...

[green_cat]

i am afraid about ASH. Because when he performs he just fails :( in next consecutive matches. i hope this time it wont happen.

[Antora]

i am afraid about ASH. Because when he performs he just fails :( in next consecutive matches. i hope this time it wont happen.

u had to remind me!!!!!!!!!

[battye]

Atlast Ashraful showed us a brilliant performance.No one could even think Ashraful doin 1 century with SRI LANKa.


I knew it all along: http://www.banglacricket.com/alochona/showthread.php?t=22653
Have faith :flag:

[Sohel]

Bring out the stats, compare them them to those from all others, and the thread title becomes as clear and true as a pleasant stroll arond Ramna Park on a lazy December day.

[Omio]

He is always best..

[Padosan]

i can only smile at these poor fans :), Ashraful the best, Mushfique the best .. Nope i wont rate this century at all, if he had scored this in the first innings and stayed this longer .. if only.

good innings, wont take it away from him but what for ?

cheers !
Padosan

[ialbd]

haha... these are the moments, responsible for the heavy bashings that follow....

cant consider this as an 'Ashraful Eid', at max a govt holiday maybe.....:D

[WarWolf]

i can only smile at these poor fans :), Ashraful the best, Mushfique the best .. Nope i wont rate this century at all, if he had scored this in the first innings and stayed this longer .. if only.

good innings, wont take it away from him but what for ?

cheers !
Padosan
Can't agree with you, sorry. What you missed to sense here is the sense of responsibility in their batting. Ash is a new captain and was under tremendous pressure. In fact, he was under more pressure in the 2nd innings due to early fall of wickets and poor batting display in the first innings. Yet they have done their job pretty well.

What we are sensing here is the start of making of a good team along with a good young captain. Allow us just 2 years of time and then see the result.

[Shaan]

Can't agree with you, sorry. What you missed to sense here is the sense of responsibility in their batting. Ash is a new captain and was under tremendous pressure. In fact, he was under more pressure in the 2nd innings due to early fall of wickets and poor batting display in the first innings. Yet they have done their job pretty well.

What we are sensing here is the start of making of a good team along with a good young captain. Allow us just 2 years of time and then see the result.

well said

[nahaz]

I am really proud of Ash and Rahim today.They really played a true test match.I've got a feeling they both intend to continue doing the same in the next match:D.If someone still feels pessimistic,what can I say!Given the pressure to perform, you can't say this innings is anything less than extraordinary.I don't see any reason not to celebrate.:big_hug: <br> Oh, for once I wasn't following the match at all today since I went out.Maybe I should do it more often:-/

[Baundule]

He is better than Don Bradman.
He is SIR Ashraful.

I was expecting such thread long ago. But people these days are too smart. ;)

[Miraz]

Yap, Ashraful is currently the best batsman among Bangladeshi batsman but unfortunately that does not make him even within top 40 batsmen of current Test cricket.

Don't be complacent by one off centuries like this for a losing cause. I would have been much happier if he scored the century in the first innings or had the courage of coming at number 4 in the second innings instead of sending the debutant Mehrab. It's a shame that he took protection under the debutant to come at number 6.

Captain's decision!!

Anyway congratulations for a well made century.

[OZGOD]

The annoying thing about Ashraful making these tons is that they come so few and far between for him. He needs to develop some consistency.

[betaar]

I would have been much happier if he scored the century in the first innings or had the courage of coming at number 4 in the second innings instead of sending the debutant Mehrab.

It’s funny how things change, it wasn’t too long ago when <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://www.banglacricket.com/alochona/ /><st1:country-region w:st=<st1:place w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:place></st1:country-region> used to bat good in the first inning and then sucked big time in the 2<SUP>nd</SUP> when the pressure was on, now it’s the other way around. :sick:

[nasimul]

It is nice to see that Ash has improved himself. BD cricket fans would like to see such innings more often and he should realise value of his wkt. Now he is not only a batsman but also captain of the team. And today´s innings under the huge pressere will help him to go forward. I desparately wish Ash & Mushifiq innings will inspire rest of our batsmen to improve their batting style and temperament. FOR GODS SAKE PLEASE USE YOUR BRAIN. WE KNOW ALL OF YOU CAN IF YOU WISH !!!!!!!

[Padosan]

Can't agree with you, sorry. What you missed to sense here is the sense of responsibility in their batting. Ash is a new captain and was under tremendous pressure. In fact, he was under more pressure in the 2nd innings due to early fall of wickets and poor batting display in the first innings. Yet they have done their job pretty well.

What we are sensing here is the start of making of a good team along with a good young captain. Allow us just 2 years of time and then see the result.

My point is why didnt Ash the new captain, under more pressure in the first innings(early fall of wickets and low score), didnt stand up in the first innings ?

Again i am not taking the credit away from Ashrafuls innings, but if he had taken the responsibility in the first innings, the match would have been in a entirely different sitn. plz understand, i am just frustrated, coz most of us here knew that there will be a couple of fifties in the second innings in a loosing cause. If it was in the first innings, it would have been much closer to a draw. I am sure the test match would have gone into the fifth day.

As pointed out by Miraz, Ash being the best batsman in the side, shld have come in much earlier and taken on the bowling in the first innings. This will keep the morale up in the team and also give the youngsters much more confidence to put up a fight.

My view is if you dont score 350-400 in the first innings of the match, there is no point in centuries in the next innings, when you got nothing else to loose than the match itself :)

damn, Murali was a different bowler in the second innings, his doosras were not effective anymore and mushfiq/ash were using their feet(read brain) against him very effectively.

come on Ash, now you know there is mushy behind you who can stay and play a long innings, come in at no.3 or 4 and make us all happy. i just expect a 50 from 150 balls from 2-3 batsmen, in the first innings. is it too much to ask ?

cheers !
Padosan

[akabir77]

ato lafanor ki asey bujlam na... we los the game an inning and 90. its like indian fans rejoicing when tendu scores 100 in a losing score. Yeah i appreciate is 100 but i don't see any point to call this brilliant or some thing else... It was another 100 when we were losing... i was happy but not jumping in joy...

[Padosan]

its like indian fans rejoicing when tendu scores 100 in a losing score. Yeah i appreciate is 100 but i don't see any point to call this brilliant or some thing else


:) exactly akabir, being a indian (fan) i know, i was encouraging tendu for all his 100's in loosing cause until i started seeing the bigger picture. I just talked on experience :), we can be all happy now but we will miss the bigger picture.

[Aritro]

My point is why didnt Ash the new captain, under more pressure in the first innings(early fall of wickets and low score), didnt stand up in the first innings ?


There's not much you can do when the short leg fieldsman pulls off the catch of the series, although he should have done a better job of keeping it down.

[rah]

It’s funny how things change, it wasn’t too long ago when <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://www.banglacricket.com/alochona/ /><st1:country-region w:st=<st1:place w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:place></st1:country-region> used to bat good in the first inning and then sucked big time in the 2<SUP>nd</SUP> when the pressure was on, now it’s the other way around. :sick:

yeh like how sri lanka is these days against strong teams

[WarWolf]

My point is why didnt Ash the new captain, under more pressure in the first innings(early fall of wickets and low score), didnt stand up in the first innings ?



We need to give him a little big time to settle down and understand his responsibility. Don't forget he is the second youngest captain in the test cricket history. I am happy that he started to understand his role.

Some great captains in the cricket history got a lot better when they have been put responsibility as captain. I hope Ash is going to be another good example.

[akabir77]

:) exactly akabir, being a indian (fan) i know, i was encouraging tendu for all his 100's in loosing cause until i started seeing the bigger picture. I just talked on experience :), we can be all happy now but we will miss the bigger picture.

I didn't saw your post when i typed mine. I agree with you. There is no point saying he is brilliant and blah as we didn't even do the minimal score in the 1st innings...

[Baundule]

Fans are responsible in ruining some of the players career.
They score a 50 in 10 matches and then they are termed as the 'everything' that even Boycott's grandma could not achieve.

[gatekeeper]

Part of the problem with our cricket lies in this thread itself, one or two good performances and we become giddy as schoolchildren. Bottom line-WE LOST BY AN INNING+.

[SS]

We could have made them bat again...two more days of player's vacation...emni kono test match nai next six months...these curtailed test matches bothering all of us...i believe we have to switch to baseball leagues to put up with our "cricket needs".

[Miraz]

I liked the assessment of Jayawardene about Ashraful.

"Bangladesh were not under pressure. They probably knew the outcome and Ashraful just played himself in. He didn't play that many shots but he knew how to control the innings. He played a very good innings today. He had a good partner in Mushfiqur Rahim. He was a bit aggressive at the start but he settled down as well. The thing is Ashraful batted at No. 6. When you do that the side is gone. The best player should be batting right up in the order and taking more responsibilities. It's always good to have individuals doing well. Credit should go to Ashraful and the other guys. But its all about trying and being competitive in Test cricket. That's the area Bangladesh should be looking at not just the individual," he said.

[One World]

i can only smile at these poor fans :), Ashraful the best, Mushfique the best .. Nope i wont rate this century at all, if he had scored this in the first innings and stayed this longer .. if only.

good innings, wont take it away from him but what for ?

cheers !
Padosan


Reality is harsh but again if we look deeper the real things are the smallest things in life that makes us happy

[SS]

I liked the assessment of Jayawardene about Ashraful.
Can't believe it how professional this guy Jaya is...at field he not only talks with bat but also complained against Shahadat to stop his grunt and thus played mind game which had an impact on Shahadat...on the other hand he gave his insightful thoughts about captancy and batsmen's position in a nice way after the match.
Still I can't accept the fact that form 40 something for 1 to 6o something for 4 yesterday. What happened all of a sudden that we lost 4 wickets withing few runs and also today why Bashar could not stick around for a little while.

[Rubu]

Hey!
Ash is performing more often then ever before. Its time we forget about those Eid days and look forward to a leader leading by example.

But the team's performance is so dismal, Ash-mushy innings is not able to make me happy.

[GothamCity]

Jeez guys give Ash a Break .. where everyone was expecting a collapse with a 2-digit grand total, they put their head down and showed us their mettle against one of the world's best bowling lineup.

[shamster]

You know what ? Has Captaincy made Ash more mature. With in weeks we are seeing different attitude in Bangla camp. Not just this innings but we have seen change meaning the amount of bowls played. Well done - I hope he keeps this up. Mushy well done too Selectors have done well.

[Protic]

Ash averages 57+ in the series till now. Lets see how he ends up. I'd personally like one more ton or a double hundred.

[mali007]

I liked SL captains post match comment about Ash. and BD cricket. The way Ash. and Mushy batted thats called TEST BATTING. But they have done it in 7th wicket. This partnership was a lesson for our top orders especially for experienced Bashar. Any way, Ash. deserves compliments for his fabulous performance in this tight situation.

[sandpiper]

12.1 Muralitharan to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, tossed up on leg and middle, Ashraful says welcome by getting on to the front foot and lofting him over midwicket for four

30.6 Malinga to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, short of a length outside the off stump, Ashraful moves forward and drives through point for four

34.3 Malinga to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, good length ball on off stump, Ashraful moves on to the front foot and drives through mid off for four, excellent timing

35.2 Muralitharan to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, excellnt shot, Ashraful gets on to the front foot and drives through cover for four

40.1 Fernando to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, shot! Fernando over-pitches outside the off stump, Ashraful takes half a step forward and drives it off the middle of the bat through covers for four

41.1 Muralitharan to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, tossed up on off and middle, Ashraful charges down the pitch, takes it on the full, and drives through cover for four more, he played that inside out

41.3 Muralitharan to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, Murali flights it outside the leg stump, Ashraful plays the sweep firmly past Sangakkara four four, Malinga tries to get across on the fine leg fence but fails to stop the boundary

42.2 Fernando to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, super shot, Ashraful leans forward and drives an over-pitched delivery between cover and mid off for four, that brings up the 100 run stand between these two, well played

49.1 Muralitharan to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, Murali pitches it wide outside leg stump, Ashraful sweeps and sweeps fine, the ball races to the fine leg fence

57.1 Vaas to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, Ashraful throws his bat at a full and wide delivery and slashes it wide of the slip cordon and down to the third man fence

57.2 Vaas to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, once again Ashraful drives in the air but over cover and extracover for four more, risky shot but it paid off

59.3 Vaas to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, outstanding, Ashraful moves on to the front foot and hits the ball firmly into the gap with a text book cover drive

61.1 Vaas to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, wide and slashed past gully, Ashraful's making merry despite Prasanna standing close to the stumps and the 150 run stand is up

64.1 Malinga to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, take that! Malinga bowls a full ball on off and middle, Ashraful meets it with the full face of the bat and drives it back past the bowler for four

68.2 Dilshan to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, this time Ashraful finds the gap at cover, that's a perfect cover drive for four more, he moves on to 99

75.2 Muralitharan to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, flighted delivery outside off stump, Ashraful gets down on one knee and times the cover drive to perfection, the boundary brings up Bangladesh highest-ever partnership in Test cricket

81.2 Malinga to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, width offered outside the off stump and Ashraful frees his arms and lofts it over covers for four, will he switch to fourth gear now that Bangladesh are eight down?

83.4 Malinga to Mohammad Ashraful, FOUR, full ball on middle and leg stump, Ashraful waits for it and flicks it off his pads over midwicket for four



courtesy: cricinfo

[Tigers_eye]

why wasn't it 19 times? We would have enjoyed a 300+ score after a long time.

[Sadz]

why wasn't it 19 times? We would have enjoyed a 300+ score after a long time.

In truth we only needed 1 to get to 300 and 2 to get above 300. Although I get what u mean.

[cricketboy]

3 of 4 Ash's century is against Srilanka which shows he plays Murali very well.

[Rabz]

i can only smile at these poor fans :), Ashraful the best, Mushfique the best .. Nope i wont rate this century at all, if he had scored this in the first innings and stayed this longer .. if only.

good innings, wont take it away from him but what for ?

cheers !
Padosan

I would have to agree you on this one.
Nothing taking away from his really good innings and making a ton is always great, but for what cause??
All he managed to do is shorten the defeat margin, but it still was an innings defeat.

He would have served much better if that century came in the first innings. That "could" have changed the whole situation of the game.

But then again, he atleast did manage a century among this poor run of our batsmen's form, and also having a healthy average of 57. Keep it up.

And as someone said, he is batting much consistently these days. So forget about those Eid days.

[MohammedC]

Well done Ashraful. Beautiful innings

[Foozy]

i am afraid about ASH. Because when he performs he just fails :( in next consecutive matches. i hope this time it wont happen.

ya... same here!!!... just hope he can keep it up this time... being the captain... he should be more reliable!!!

[Nafis_BD]

Yes, congrats to Ashraful and Mushfiq as well these two really played sensibly today and I hope they continue doing this!!!

[SMHasan]

Much better effort this time but nothing has happened to be complacent. In fact yet another innings defeat. But I would say few words here.

Ashraful showed today that there is always a ray of hope amongst all darkness. And he and Mushfique showed how to fight. I am really impressed with Mushfique, he showed once again that the upper part of his shoulder is more matured than rest of his body. Mervelous effort. I really want him and Ashraful to come top of the order. Batting at 5/6 is not helping us at all. You should send your best batsman in the top of the order. That's the way he can expose himself, can bring more confident among other players. We need Ash to come at 3/4 not at 5.


I think this is the time for Habibul and Javed to think about their own game. Think from outside of the box. Think what you are doing and whats are expected to you. If necessary leave yourself out for the third test to get some time to think.

Hope we improve in later part of the series.

[WarWolf]

Big innings are coming more and more frequently from his bat these days. First one was in 2001 and he had to wait three years till 2004 for the second one. With two years gap he got another one in 2006. And finally this one came just with one year interval.

I see there is a pattern.:-p 3,2 and 1 years gaps.

[voodoo_dreams]

can anyone tell me why he bats so far down the order? 5 of the top order batsmen are already back in the dressing room by the time he gets in the middle.. I fail to understand

[scoilaheez]

Ash must follow this performance up with a solid innings. Also he has to stop being dismissed off the middle of the bat. The signs of improvement in Ash are good but I think BD management could consider resting Ash during the 20-20 tournament as he has just shown patience and composure that may once again be eroded during this tournament.

[Ahmed_B]

Big innings are coming more and more frequently from his bat these days. First one was in 2001 and he had to wait three years till 2004 for the second one. With two years gap he got another one in 2006. And finally this one came just with one year interval.

I see there is a pattern.:-p 3,2 and 1 years gaps.
Well... that just might have something to do with the gradually increased criticisms against him over the years and the scare of getting scrapped off the team!

I'll take it if it works though. :)

[WarWolf]

What did say Sangakara to Ash? E-)

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/77200/77286.gif

[akabir77]

What did say Sangakara to Ash? E-)

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/77200/77286.gif

He is saying I know your hero is Tendu but don't follow him and make 100 when it doesn't matter. make hundred when it matters like me...

[Kana-Baba]

3 of 4 Ash's century is against Srilanka which shows he plays Murali very well.

which also shows that he has better footwork than many players in the world, remember players with great footwork (such as lara) played well against great spinners like Murali.

[Padosan]

What did say Sangakara to Ash? E-)

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/77200/77286.gif
sanga to Ash : I know it itches bad in the armpits after a long innings, yeah thats the way to conceal your scratching

Ash to Sanga : alright, but i can see you scratching your a$$.

cheers !
Padosan

[rashed_va]

Everyone knows that Ash is capable of such accomplishment. I think what holds him back is confidence/positiveness that needs to come from his team. I have to credit Mushy for that. After screaming for so long we finally get Mushy. Hope to see Tamim soon as well since he is the other positiveness in the BD team. JO, Nafees and Hablu, however good they are, lacks positiveness. They are too old school.

[Ehsan]

Haha. Good one Padosan!

[Ahg984]

he's shaping up to be the next Tendulkar??

[riaz131]

We should not call him the best yet. He gets some runs in every other 15 matches, and we are comparing him to player like Lara and Tendulkar!!! I think we Bengali fan get too excited over little. He needs to be more consistent, and then be called "the best".

[Fazal]

he's shaping up to be the next Tendulkar??

huh? You mean Tetul Gach ? Yes right now he is the Tetul Gach of Bangladesh batting order. Thora Misti thora Tok. The next goal is to become Bot gach.

[Shafin]

huh? You mean Tetul Gach ? Yes right now he is the Tetul Gach of Bangladesh batting order. Thora Misti thora Tok. The next goal is to become Bot gach.
I'm not satisfied with Bot Gach.I want Tal Gach.