BANGLA-wash accomplished

A whitewash was always on the cards after emphatic wins in the first two games and the Tigers rose to the expectations in some style, inflicting yet another defeat on Pakistan with clinical efficiency, courtesy Soumya Sarkar's stroke-filled maiden hundred at Mirpur yesterday.

If the first one on Friday by 79 runs was good, the second one by 7 wickets two days later was better. However, last night's 8-wicket win and that too with more than ten overs to spare was the best by any stretch of imagination.

Former national all-rounder Athar Ali Kahn had made a name for himself as a commentator when he famously uttered the word Bangla-wash after the Tigers' series sweep against New Zealand in 2010. For records, it's the Tigers' tenth series sweep in the 50-over format and arguably the most memorable Bangla-wash.

After hitting the winning boundary, Mushfiqur Rahim had his arms stretched in joy and then hugged match-winner Soumya that was quickly relayed all around the Bangladesh camp. Players came into the middle with national flags and uprooted the stumps in celebration as they accomplished their mission of a 3-0 sweep. However, the writing was on the wall much earlier for Pakistan.
 

If Bangladesh cherishes this success in the days to come then Pakistan will have a hard time forgetting it, especially the way the Tigers decimated their morale in yesterday's game will be hard to swallow. Riding on Soumya's sparkling unbeaten 110-ball 127 -- a knock which contained 13 fours and 6 sixes -- Bangladesh's batting looked resolute as they overtook Pakistan's 250 runs with ease to cancel Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali's maiden ton.

Soumya drew the attention of the cricket pundits, despite only showing glimpses of his effortless batting since the World Cup and he yesterday made it known that he would justify his talent and entertain the fans with his ability, like he did yesterday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

It was entrancing to watch his effortless boundaries and the stylish left-hander reached the magical three-digit figure in superb fashion, as he rocked back and powerfully pulled Azhar Ali over deep midwicket for a six, before vigorously swinging his bat in celebration.

Bangladesh had declared themselves as favourites in the series, but it was beyond anybody's imagination the way this Mashrafe Bin Mortaza-led team finished the job to make their words come to life on the field. The whitewash was clinched in such a smooth manner that it even eclipsed their feats New Zealand, against another highly-ranked side.

The margins of 79-run, seven-wicket and eight-wicket victories might not fully describe how flawless and ruthless the Tigers were in the series against their South Asian neighbours, who left the Tigers mystified for sixteen long years before the series.

The 'killer instinct' they showed in the series, particularly in the last game was incredible. The way two Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya toyed with the Pakistan attack chasing 250 runs was refreshing for Bangladesh cricket.

When Tamim walked back to the dressing room, Bangladesh were already well placed, as the left-hander shared a 145-run partnership with another southpaw, Soumya, which came only in 25.3 overs.

Pacer Junaid Khan trapped Tamim in front to deny him from making a hattrick of centuries, but the left-hander still got a standing ovation from the cheering crowd, as he showed rare consistency in his batting, hitting a 76-ball 64 which featured eight fours and one six.

After a brilliant World Cup where he made two consecutive hundreds, Mahmudullah Riyad finished the series without any notable success. The right-hander managed only four runs which saw Bangladesh lose their second wicket in quick succession, but once again the dismissal only brought the run-machine, Mushfiqur Rahim, to the middle. Mushfiqur continued his run-spree and provided support to Soumya as the pair saw out the game comfortably.

A terrific Mushfiqur was not out on 49 off 43 balls.

Earlier, Pakistan had a chance to pose a challenge to the home team in the last game as they were in a position to put up a big score after electing to bat first, but Bangladeshi bowlers, supported by brilliant fielding, clawed back to take the initiative.
Pakistan lost their last eight wickets for only 47 runs and they were dismissed for 250 runs, after being 203 for two.

Azhar Ali and debutant Sami Aslam set up a strong platform with a 91-run opening stand and the Pakistan captain followed that with a 98-run second wicket stand with Haris Sohail to put his side in a strong position, but his dismissal changed the scenario of Pakistan's innings.

Shakib Al Hasan gave the much-needed breakthrough, removing Azhar and he then picked up the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza also took two wickets during the final period to kill any hopes Pakistan had of challenging the strong Bangladesh batting line-up.