A lesson for management too

While it may seem that being the first Bangladesh player to suffer the misfortune of getting out on 99 in international cricket would disappoint a player who strives endlessly for personal excellence, Mushfiqur Rahim was not bothered with the near-miss after Bangladesh won the Asia Cup match against Pakistan by 37 runs on Wednesday and moved into Friday's final against India. 

"To be honest, after winning, I am not hurting anymore," Mushfiqur said in the post-match press conference at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. "I don't know how much you know about this, but I always believe that the team comes first. If I scored a century, and we scored 260 but lost the match, I wouldn't have felt good. This is not just lip service, but comes from my heart."

In the opening match of the tournament against Sri Lanka on September 15, Mushfiqur's 144 rescued the team from a precarious position. He did much the same here, except that he could not complete what would have been his seventh ODI century and while he was out in the 50th over against Sri Lanka, he perished to a Shaheen Shah Afridi outswinger in the 42nd over on Wednesday. 

"My disappointment [at getting out] was heightened because, as I kept saying after going into the dressing room, as a set batsman I should have batted at least until the 48th over. With the bowling quality they have even at the death, it is not easy to hit when you are new to the crease. We barely scored 100 runs in the last 20 overs.  We scored around 110 [103 runs in the last 20 overs of the innings, which ended at 48.5 overs]. So it was obviously disappointing for me. But I think the team winning is most important."

With all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan ruled out of the tournament with a finger injury before the match and opener Tamim Iqbal having gone home with a fractured left hand after the opening game, the onus was largely on Mushfiqur to compensate for a faltering top order that cannot seem to get going after repeated tries. 

"This [innings] is definitely top five. We needed one partnership badly at that time," said Mushfiqur about building a 144-run fourth-wicket partnership with Mohammad Mithun (60 off 84) after Bangladesh were cut down to 12 for three. "The wicket was pretty good to bat on and we knew that with the quality Pakistan had with the new ball we knew that we might lose a couple of early wickets; that can happen to any side. 

"But the way we bounced back was very important. And I think I should credit Mithun as well because the way he batted – he played very well in the first game and was under pressure in the next two games – but the way he backed himself was great from a young cricketer, seeing him play his shots and everything. The plan was to just knock the ball around in the first couple of overs because we knew that after losing three wickets the team [Pakistan] would be geared up and charged up against us. So we coped with the pressure really well in the first part and in the latter part we carried on with the run rate."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina phoned Bangladesh's injured opener Tamim Iqbal today at his residence and asked about his well-being.

When contacted, Tamim, who had returned from the UAE yesterday, following an injury to his hand, told The Daily Star over the phone that the Prime Minister asked about his well-being during a phone conversation at 2 pm today and talked to him for a considerable amount of time and Tamim reiterated that the Prime Minister was very warm-hearted during the conversation with the cricketer.

"She asked me about my well-being and she spoke with a kind of affection which was not like a Prime Minister. I felt like someone very close to me was asking about my well-being and she told me to let her know if I needed something," Tamim said.

Tamim Iqbal's Asia Cup tournament was over when a Suranga Lakmal delivery fractured the little finger of his left hand. Scans revealed the fracture and there was no doubt that Tamim will play no further part in the match. In a moving tale, his sheer bravery came to the fore as he returned to bat against Lakmal at No.11 and faced up to the bowler, one-handed, putting his body on the line for the sake of his team and his country. His dedication to the cause brought praise from all across Bangladesh. While Tamim did find solace in all the praise that was coming his way, he still would have liked nothing more than to be with the Tigers at UAE and win matches for his team.

"Naturally I feel good with all the praise coming my way. I am accepting humbly that the Prime Minister called me and that people were so positive in their response of what I did in that match. I did what I did because I felt something inside me.

"However, even after everything, I am a professional cricketer and for me, the suffering I am facing because of not being able to play is a big factor.

"I would have felt a lot better if I was able to stay there and win two matches for my team," he concluded.

When Bangladesh take on India in the Asia Cup final in Dubai today, it will be a battle between two sides who have come to the title clash through highly contrasting routes and with widely divergent levels of confidence.

The match will start at 5:30pm (Bangladesh time) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

India had confirmed their place in the final by beating Pakistan by nine wickets on Sunday, the same day that Bangladesh had just managed to stay in contention with a three-run win over Afghanistan. India then rested their best players -- including captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan -- for their last Super Four match against Afghanistan, who were inspired by leg-spinner Rashid Khan into forcing a thrilling tie against the world's top-ranked ODI team on Tuesday.

The following day, Bangladesh woke to the news that ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan would follow opener and highest run-scorer Tamim Iqbal out of the tournament, but still rallied to beat two-time champions Pakistan by 37 runs in Abu Dhabi.

While that meant that Bangladesh made the final for the third time in the last four editions, it also meant that they would have one less day than the more-fancied India to recuperate after toiling in heat that they had never played in as a team.

There is also a contrast between the respective strengths of the sides. Bangladesh have routinely lost two wickets inside the first 10 overs and have played out the 50 overs only once in five matches. Meanwhile India have only lost more than three wickets on the two occasions when they played at less than full strength -- against Hong Kong in their first match when they lost seven wickets for 285 and against Afghanistan, when they were bowled out for 252.

"It was difficult [winning against Pakistan] with performers like Shakib and Tamim not playing," said Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza at the pre-final press conference yesterday. "The good thing that the boys have done is that they did not given up, although we lost to Afghanistan in the group stage and again against India [exactly a week before the final], but still they fought back.

"There are some concerns with our batting, but Mushfiqur [Rahim, the second-highest scorer in the tournament with 297 runs] is in great form. [Mohammad] Mithun is playing well, [Mahmudullah] Riyad also batted well. If our top order can click it will be fine. But again I think that India are a far better team -- number one in the world. They came here as favourites, but you never know, anything can happen on a good day. We have to be mentally strong and fight till the end."

While India will have a settled team, Bangladesh have not played the same team for two matches in succession throughout the tournament. The injuries have forced them to get creative, such as batting left-handed opener Imrul Kayes at six to combat Rashid's leg-spin on Sunday. There may be a change today, with left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam coming into replace batsman Mominul Haque to try and contain India's vaunted batting order.

Imrul could also slot back into the opening position, pulling Soumya down to the lower middle order. With the way things have gone, it is a fool's errand to guess their plans. Mashrafe also has an injury to his right little from when he spectacularly caught Pakistan's Shoaib Malik on Wednesday. However, there is no danger of the captain not playing in the title clash.

The crux of the battle may be in the top order because the two teams match up pretty evenly with the ball. Bangladesh have not conceded more than the 255 for seven Afghanistan scored against them last Thursday. As Mashrafe said, if it goes according to form, the top-ranked India should come out on top against the seventh-ranked Bangladesh. But if the Tigers can find the solution to the top order woes at the most opportune time, they will have performed above themselves and could conjure an unlikely result.

Bangladesh also have the invisible hand of momentum going in their favour, having won their last two matches with spirited performances.

However, it should also be remembered that they have never won a final, including a loss to India in the last Asia Cup final at home and in the Nidahas Trophy in March.

Bangladesh and Comilla Victorians batsman Tamim Iqbal said that he took a leaf out of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's book to infuse not only imbue himself with confidence but also the team as Comilla Victorians clinched the Bangladesh Premier League.

One might wonder what Mashrafe had to contribute to Tamim's incredible 141-run knock off just 61 deliveries, an innings that saw him become the first Bangladesh batsman this season to strike a ton.

The opener had a different aura about him. He wanted to make the difference and he reserved his best for last. He used a Mashrafe slogan to give the team positive vibes as he clinched his first-ever BPL trophy.

"Truth be told I was very tense but I was using Mashrafe bhai's tactics. He always says this one thing that 'I will win, I will win'. So, in this whole BPL my tactics was this. It was copied from him. From day one I have been saying that no matter what we are winning. I was tense but I tried to infuse positive vibe within the team. They can't read my mind but can hear what I am saying," he said.

He said that his plan went nicely today even as he was having trouble believing that he had played such an otherworldly knock.

"To tell the truth I did not think that I will be able to play an innings like this. But I think I planned it really nicely. Whoever I was batting with, I was telling them not to give wickets to [Sunil] Narine and Shakib [Al Hasan]. In the whole innings I don't think except hitting a six off Narine, I took a risk against him. So this was the key since this two bowlers are vital for them and had the biggest contribution to their success," the hero of today's match concluded.