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Originally Posted by Imtiazk
The soft sea breeze was such a relief in this sultry afternoon. India replying to a fighting Bangladesh total of 247 , are 135 /4. The match is delicately poised. After India had recovered from an early breakthrough by Murtaza and Rasel, the Bangladesh spinning troika has put the brakes on India’s progress. Rafique is bowling to Tendulkar. Suddenly, there is commotion amongst the crowd. The majority Indian element heave a sigh of relief.
It appears young Mushfiq has missed a difficult stumping chance down the leg side. I wake up in a cold sweat !
Thank God ! It is only a nightmare. But I hope the decision to drop Mashud does not come to haunt us !
I am no great fan of Mashud, or, for that matter of Bashar, Omar & co. But the time for experienced cricketers to retire or be replaced is just after a World Cup. Like McGrath. Warne retired out of one dayers some time back.
There is no doubt young Mushfiq does bring an extra dimension in batting. As the Zimbabwe tour showed, it looks as if there is a strategy , that if there is appreciable movement with the ball in the beginning of an innings , and Bangladesh lose a wicket early on, Mushfiq could come in ahead of Aftab to steady the boat.
However, any objective assessment would reveal that this is the strongest Bangladesh team ever. Notwithstanding, the recent runaway success have been against the minnows. It should not be forgottten that it was exactly these minnows who used to beat us regularly. Kenya had a 7-1 lead. Canada beat us comprehensively. In 2003, we realistically could not hope to beat any of the Top 8, even after the debatable win against Pakistan in 1999. After all, in the intervening years, we did not beat anyone. In the last two years, we have beaten Australia and Sri Lanka discounting the recent warm up win against New Zealand. Even the betting odds are shorter !
The opening bowling can cause difficulty to any team in the opening overs. Murtaza with his line and Rasel with his swing. But the strength of the Bangladesh attack lies in their spinners. I still have an open mind regarding Sakib but Razzaq has now proven that he is a class act. Probably, even better than the old warhorse Rafique. If we manage a couple of early wickets, it might be a good idea to slip in some overs from Aftab too.
What whets my appetite is to see our spinners against the mighty Indians with all their reputation against spin. We will see !
Tamim is new and unproven. But starting out with two left handers is good thinking. Remember, Vaas, Collins, Pathan , Franklin. Yes, but they were all against right handers ! Somehow, it does not seem so lethal against the left handers. Aftab could be our match winner. I do not feel entirely comfortable with his attitude. But I also recognise that against a top 8 side we have to do something extra to win. An Aftab blitzkreig might just be what the doctor ordered ! If he can hang around for 20 overs, he could win a match for us. Thepowerplays are crucial to our success.
Bashar worries me with his fitness. Precisely, because he will bat during the consolidation phase when rotation is the name of the game. His running has always been poor but more so in recent times.
Thankfully, Ashraful is beginning to show better form at last. We all know what he can do on his day. I hope this is his day. Coming in at No.6, he effectively has become our Afridi. As long as we have some wickets in hand, Rafique and Murtaza can create mayhem with the bat. Only, Rasel is a bunny !
For me, the result depends on how our spinners tie down and frustrate their batsmen. Whilst, the wily Tendulkar and the experienced Dravid and Ganguly may have seen all this before, I am not sure how Dhoni & co. will react if they cannot play their natural game. India’s batting is formidable but this is the most balanced Bangladesh attack yet ! Believe it or not, two Bangladeshis Razzaq and Murtaza are 11th and 12th in the one day rankings just ahead of Harbhajan and Agarkar – one of whom may not even play. Rafique is 18th ahead of Pathan at 22, mainly because of exploits more than a year ago. Zaheer trails at No. 26.
Three Indians batsmen come in above the highest ranking Bangladeshi, Nafees, who is 17th. Actually, Tendulkar comes in just below at No. 20. Sehwag going south on 36th is just above Aftab who is rising fast.
Roll on tomorrow !
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