After 2 days of good bowling performance by the Bangladeshi bowlers against the Queensland Invitational side, tommorow could be an important day for them as the players will be desperate to try and win this match. It ia also going to be turn of the batsmen tommorow to show to the world what they are capable of. The second day ended with Queensland hiiting 153/7 by stumps. Earlier in the day, Bangladesh made a sporting declaration at 203/9, taking just a 2 run lead against the Queensland invitational side.
At the start of the day, the two overnight batsmen, Mohammed Ashraful and Al-Shahriar Rokon couldnt continue the good work, which they did yeaterday. Rokon was out for his overnight score of 4 and Ashraful could add only 6 to his. He was the second highest scorer for the tourists with 39. The day really belonged to Alok Kapali, a future all-round prospect for Bangladesh, who did justify his capabilities with both the bat and the ball as he top scored for Bangladesh with a useful contribution of 55 off 98 balls (6x4, 1x6) and later on also chipped in with the ball, taking 4/24 off 10 overs to have the hosts reeling at 153/7 by the end of the day. Kapali also shared a valuable 70 run partnership with the former Bangladeshi captain, Khaled Mashud Pilot. That partnership was instrumental in Bangladesh taking the lead. At one stage, the tourists were reeling at 112/6 after James Hopes, a right-arm medium pacer for Queensland, removed both the overnight batsmen. He finished with figures of 4/35 off his 18 overs. When Kapali went out, Bangladesh were almost out of trouble at 182/7 with 19 runs still needed to wipe off the deficit. But Pilot was able to keep his cool to take the tourists beyond the 200 run-mark and also hit a patient knock of 38 off 82 balls (5x4), to give the tourists an important First-Innings lead. He also put a price tag on his wicket as he faced 82 balls batting at no.8.
Later on, the Bangladesh bowlers were able to restrict Queensland to 153/7 with again Kapali being the hero taking 4 wickets. DM Payne was the highest scorer for the hosts as he top scored with 52 and also put an opening stand of 54 with BP Nash. But after Payne went out, the Queensland innings began to collapse. Kapali took 2 wickets in 2 balls to remove DM Payne and SJ Farrell. He later on also removed the Australian off-spinner Nathan Hauritz and the hosts were reeling at 122/6. Again, it was the turn of their first-innings hero, LA Carseldine, to ensure that the hosts werent all out. He is still not out at 16 along with DR MacKenzie on 10. It will be interesting to see how many more runs can these 2 put on.
Batting seems to be the major worry for Bangladesh. They really have to clear their batting problems if they have to win this one. Batting never seems to click at the right time for Bangladesh and in the past, they have always been guilty of falling a few runs short. Even against a weakened Queensland side, they could only manage 203/9 in the first innings showing a poor batting performance. Also, Bangladesh are likely to get a target of over 200 and they will really have to keep their cool if they have to win this one. Whatmore, their coach is going to be the one who will have to help these Bangladeshis. Also, the players have to believe that they can win and should go for it like Tigers.
A win to the start the Aussie tour would be a major achievement for the south-asian minnows as even England couldnt win a match against any Australian team when they were here last year. It will be a good sight to see the celebrations back home.
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