Bangladesh Vs. Sri Lanka - the tour that was

[abherath]

The series which just ended had several highlights.

The most important of them for Bangladesh was that they showed they had come a long way from the days when they were real ‘minnows’; that was more important than winning the second ODI. The latter was a mere symptom of the former. They are now a side capable of beating any side on a good day and most sides fairly frequently. What they lack is in temperament but aggressive players like Shahadat show that there is rapid improvement there too.

As for Sri Lanka, the final results were very satisfactory, for they came out with a young team. A test playing nation should be able to try out different players, even resting seniors and still produce results. Sri Lanka did just this and in this sense, it is right to say that they made a ‘statement’ on this tour.

Among other highlights, Habibul Bashar showed consistency in batting, demonstrating once again that he was world class. Ashraful showed what he is capable of, with two half centuries and a truly majestic century in the first test. He is definitely on the rise and his batting average will improve tremendously over the next few series, provided someone talks to him about not losing his head at vital points. His wicket is just too precious to lose to an idiotic shot. He is a hara-kiri expert !

Mohamed Rafique bowled pretty well and in my opinion, could be considered one of the better spinners in the world today. He is a great asset, considering that he bats well and comes in handy when the Tigers need it most.

However, the player who caught everyone’s attention was Shahadat Hossain. He not only bowled tremendously with great consistency, but also his aggression and body language were simply great. I think the international media will talk a lot about him in the near future, probably starting with the Aussie tour of Bangladesh. Apart from this, Syed Rasel bowled well within himself though I think that he is more suited to ODIs (where one needs to contain batsmen) and not test cricket (where one needs to take wickets). In tests, he will be a good complementary bowler. It was a pity for Bangladesh that the trio of Mashrafe, Hossain and Rasel could not be in operation in this series.

Sri Lankans could be happy with the performances of their youngsters and relative newcomers. Upul Tharanga was a revelation. The likes of Shane Warne – who spoke of cheap wickets – might talk of ‘cheap runs’ but will soon be proven wrong in the months ahead, when Sri Lanka will play Pakistan England et al. Malinga Bandara is blossoming as a leg spinner and the other Malinga, ‘Lasith’ has joined Vaas and Murali as those who got to 50 test wickets the soonest among Sri Lankans: in 13 tests. Thirteen sure is not an unlucky number for them. Lasith Malinga, a genuine fast bowler (contrary to the ‘Fast Medium’ tag he is carrying), will continue to torment batsmen around the world. The other good sign for Sri Lanka was a stable middle order and a relatively satrong tail in both tests and ODIs. On the ODI front, Sri Lanka now has a belligerent six-hitting brigade in Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Kapugedara and Farveez Maharoof, supported by Dilshan, an expert in quick running between the wickets and hitting fours.

Bashar’s captaincy has come in for much criticism in the past. I, for one, used to think that he was not aggressive enough. However, in this series, he did show a lot of character in his own unassuming way. His captaincy record keeps improving. One cannot forget that he has an unenviable job, to lead a giant-killing performance each time he walks out on the field. However, with Bangladesh maturing as I said in my opening, Bangladesh’s wins from now on will rapidly lose the ‘giant-killing ‘ label, as the Tigers slide into their seats alongside the so called ‘giants’ themselves. Bashar is still young at 33 and he will retire one day as a successful captain, as the one who guided his country’s team into maturity, much like Arjuna Ranatunga did for Sri Lanka, albeit not in the aggressive manner of the latter.

Cricket is a sport, supposed to be played by sportsmen. Sure, sledging and being vociferous are an accepted as part of the game now, within limits. Ask Sangakkara - or the small made but energetic Ashraful who seems as fluent with his tongue as he is with his bat - about this aspect of the game. In spite of the on-field verbal battles, there were great examples of sportsmanship. It was indeed touching to see Bashar congratulating Murali on his 600th wicket, just as his immediate past batting partner Mashud was making the long trek back to the pavilion, wondering how he (Mashud) could have become both the 1000th international victim and the 600th test victim of Murali. (Talk about victimization !) It has also been reported in the Sri Lankan press that the tough, ‘jovial ruffian’ looking - pardon me, Mr. Rafique - Mohammed Rafique had given his mobile phone to be used by two die-hard but poor Sri Lankan fans who had made a long hard trip to Bangladesh to see their idols at play (a flight from Colombo to Chennai, a 30-hour train ride from Channai to Kolkatta and a 9-hour bus ride from Kolkatta to Dhaka, with some humiliation at the border crossing, to boot). These two fans have received assistance from both Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi players.

This piece will not be complete without a word on umpiring. Much has been said about this aspect in the Banglacricket forum itself. So I do not wish to repeat those comments. What I would say - with due respect for the hard job they are doing - is that, with that standard of umpiring it was not only a challenge to win, but it was also a challenge to lose! I will not elaborate on this but will leave it to you, my friends, to figure out.

My finish to this article has been disturbed somewhat. I was planning to write that Bangladesh could look forward to a good series against the Aussies. Wouldn’t you like to make Mr. Ponting comply with Mr. Akram’s rather ‘polite’ request, with a ‘telling’ performance ? I was picturing Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain and Syed Rasel putting the breaks on the Aussie batting for Rafique to finish them off. Now I will think twice before writing that, having seen the last ODI between South Africa and Australia last night. Will South Africa’s record of 438 stand for long ? For that matter, will Sri Lanka’s test batting record of 903/7 stand for long, in the wake of their ODI record of 398 being shattered ? Whatever it is going to be, I wish Bangladeshi cricket the best of luck and success. Sri Lanka will continue to support you, our South Asian brothers, with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ tour starting this week bearing testimony.

Edited on, March 13, 2006, 2:33 PM GMT, by abherath.

[Toutais]

ahahahha pshhhhhh!

[BanglaCool]

ssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[sar2005]

You know well how to write, don't you?
A brilliant one abherath!! It covers every part of the serries.

Thank you for such a wonderful article.