Tigers’ white whale

Bangladesh's Test temperament is often a cause for debate when looking at some of the batters' approach in the longest format. Liton Das came under fire in the recent Sri Lanka series for charging a fast bowler when the team was already in trouble. This time too in Kanpur, barring one or two innings, the level of Test temperament needed to survive in international cricket was missing from the Tigers.

Four of Bangladesh's top six are solely Test-oriented. Openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam are only playing red-ball cricket, while Mominul Haque is considered a Test specialist. Late in his career, Mushfiqur Rahim too will be keen to focus on Tests rather than ODIs.

The rest, especially ones like Shakib Al Hasan or Liton, are white-ball stars who have made their presence felt. Liton was punching the deliveries with ease in Bangladesh's first innings in Kanpur. Then two slips were taken off, limiting his scoring opportunities at mid-off and mid-wicket, both fielders positioned close to make their presence felt. Test matches may not have scoreboard pressure, but the pressure of the actual scenario -- of not finding a different avenue to score -- led Liton to charge down the wicket, trying to clear mid-off, only to be caught brilliantly by India captain Rohit Sharma.

The faith to maintain focus on defence, and the ability to grind it out, were tools that were lacking. Liton, in that sense, applied his T20 know-how to try to apply pressure, but departed at an ill-opportune moment.

India can afford to unleash the likes of Rishabh Pant on any bowling attack and unsettle them, but it is the assuredness provided by players like Shubman Gill or Virat Kohli, along with a host of other names, that allows the current best team in the world to be tactically flexible to match scenarios.

Shadman's 50 or Mominul's hundred in the Kanpur Test show more can be done with shot selection, but asking players to contribute in all formats can be a deterrent to developing the right players.

Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha pointed out that Bangladesh are improving as a side, but to improve further, a deeper pool of Test players will be required.

"Only this group shouldn't improve. This is the top. We need to improve what's underneath. We cannot expect to perform if we don't have a foundation or system in place," Hathurusingha said at yesterday's press conference, regarding how to improve and compete against a quality team like India's.

Test cricket may be changing, with batting styles from other formats sometimes blurring the lines between formats, but the essence of it remains distinct. Whether attacking or defending, there must be assuredness in shot selection.

"Not that we haven't improved. We have improved lately, and we are competing with other teams. India have completely gone to another level. It is not just their first eleven, but there's competition for places. Their system, including their facilities, has improved out of sight. That's what we are learning," he said about the overall development of the game.

There are many waiting in the wings, for instance, Shahadat Hossain Dipu or Mahmudul Hasan Joy. The remuneration has improved in Test cricket, leading more players to choose Tests over other formats. However, to build the required pool, groundwork is needed, starting from school cricket to domestic tournaments.

So, the next time the argument is made about why Test cricketers are not getting exposure in franchise Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), it should also be noted that varying styles can hinder technique and temperament.

Bangladesh pacer Khaled Ahmed replaced Taskin Ahmed in the 15-member squad for the second Test against South Africa, scheduled to start on October 29, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made the announcement of the only change in the squad on Thursday evening. 

"Taskin hasn't been dropped. We have a long list of international matches coming up in the next few months. The break will give him some time to rest and he can also start preparing for the upcoming series," selector Hannan Sarkar told the Daily Star over phone on Thursday.

Khaled, who claimed four wickets for 61 runs during Sylhet Division's opening round National Cricket League 2024-25 match against Dhaka Division in Khulna, was dropped for the opening Test against the Proteas after a poor display in the Kanpur Test against India in September. Meanwhile, Taskin wasn't included in the playing eleven of the first South Africa Test as the Tigers opted to go with Hasan Mahmud - the only pacer in the starting lineup -alongside three spinners.

The Tigers lost the contest by seven wickets on Day 4 in Mirpur today.

Bangladesh squad will travel to Chattogram on October 26 for the final match of the series. 

Squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, Hasan Murad and Khaled Ahmed.

The first semi-final of the World Cup will have to wait one more day as play was suspended due to excessive rain.

The covers have gone on and off a few times but the match was eventually called off. New Zealand were 211-5 off 46.1 overs when persistent rain worsened sufficiently for the umpires to halt play with 23 balls left in the innings. Ross Taylor was 67 not out and Tom Latham three not out. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson had earlier made 67 after winning the toss, with Jasprit Bumrah (1-25 off eight overs) leading a disciplined India bowling attack. After more than four hours without play, the covers started to be removed but no sooner had an inspection been announced then fresh rain fell on the Manchester ground. 

The play will continue tomorrow from where it left off today. 

The covers at Old Trafford in Manchester are coming on. Drizzle starts and although it does not seem heavy, the umpires halted the proceedings. 

Click here to see what happens if the first semifinal is not concluded today.

 

New Zealand lose wickets in quick successions

New Zealand lost Jimmy Neesham and Coolin De Grandhomme in quick successions as the Kiwis reach the 200-run mark.

Neesham never looked comfortable on the field as he was sent back by Hardik Pandya after he scored 12 off 18 balls. However, De Grandhomme on the other hand scored a quickfire 16 off ten balls before being caught behind the stumps by Dhoni as Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a slower. Ross Taylor still on the crease having scored 60 runs off 81 balls after 45 overs.

Williamson departs trying to up the tempo

After a 64-run third wicket stand between New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, the former fell prey to Chahal in the 36th over. A tossed up delivery from Chahal that got the outside edge of Williamson's bat who was already into the shot. A simple catch to Ravindra Jadeja who was standing at point. This could be a massive moment in the game where the Kiwis have been struggling with their scoring rate.

New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls take a single during their semifinal against India at Old Trafford. Photo: Reuters

Williamson, Taylor hold firm against India in World Cup semi-final

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson again helped his side recover from the loss of an early wicket as the Black Caps reached 122-2 after 33 overs in the World Cup semi-final against India at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Williamson, who won the toss, remains 58 not out and Ross Taylor 22 not out, with hopes of a competitive Black Caps total once more resting on the shoulders of the two senior batsmen. The duo have strung together an ongoing 53-run stand for the third wicket.

New Zealand lost opener Martin Guptill with just one run on the board and crawled to 27-1 off the first 10 overs.

All five previous matches in the tournament at Old Trafford had been won by the side batting first, so Williamson's decision at the toss was understandable.

But, Williamson apart, the Black Caps' top order has struggled at the World Cup and the overcast conditions in Manchester on Tuesday allied to a fresh pitch offering some seam movement promised to assist India's impressive pace attack.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar appealed for lbw against Guptill off the first ball of the match and an India review of the original not out decision proved unsuccessful, with replays indicating the ball would have gone down the legside.

It took New Zealand 17 balls to score the first run of the match and India did not have long to wait for Guptill's wicket in any event.

The right-hander was the leading run-scorer of the tournament when New Zealand finished runners-up at the 2015 World Cup.

But he had made just one when he fended carelessly outside off-stump against a rising Jasprit Bumrah delivery and was well caught, head-high, by India captain Virat Kohli at second slip.

Guptill's fifth single-figure score of the tournament left New Zealand 1-1 in the fourth over.

His exit brought in Williamson, who prior to Tuesday's match had scored over 28 percent of New Zealand's runs this tournament -- a remarkably high percentage for one batsman.

Left-hander Henry Nicholls eventually struck the opening boundary of the match when he cover-drove Bumrah for four in the eighth over to reach his first double-figure score of the tournament.

Bumrah's opening spell still yielded fine figures of one wicket for 10 runs in four overs.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja ended a second-wicket stand worth 68 when he turned one between bat and pad to bowl Nicholls for 28. (AFP, Manchester)

New Zealand batsmen Ross Taylor and skipper Kane Williamson were not allowed to score freely as Indian bowlers bowled excellently.

Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja kept the Kiwis in check, leaving the batsmen scratching their heads on how to score runs. The fielding has been excellent such that the Kiwis were not able to reach the hundred mark after 25 overs. Henry Nicholls was sent back as a good length ball broke back in and bounced, as the batsman aimed to defend off the front foot, but, he did not expect it to spin so much. Ravindra Jadeja breached Nicholl's defence. The middle stump was knocked back just as New Zealand looked to build a partnership.

 

Skipper Kane Williamson and opener Henry Nicholls steadied the ship and consolidated after New Zealand lost Martin Guptill for 1 following a very nervy and slow start by the Kiwis. Williamson was unbeaten on 26 with Nicholls not out on 23 as the Kiwis reached 52 for the loss of one wicket after 14 overs.

3.3 overs Jusprit Bumrah removes an out-of-form Martin Guptill with a peach outside off-stump. The ball rose sharply as Guptill hesitantly poked at it, only finding the safe hands of Virat Kohli at second slip. 1 run for Guptill off 14 deliveries and 1 run on the board for Kiwis for one wicket.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat first in the first semifinal of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup at Old Trafford in Manchester today.

The kiwis made one change to their side. Fit-again speedster Lockie Ferguson comes in for Tim Southee. India, too, made one change, with Yuzvendra Chahal replacing Kuldeep Yadav.

Playing XIs:

India: Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni(w), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult

"We would've batted first. Fresh wicket, nice and hard, and not moist. A bit of rain around as well, the ball will get wet as the game goes on. It could remain decent throughout the game," India captain Virat Kohli said after losing the toss.

The prolific batsman feels their experience of playing two matches on this ground would help them negate the impact of losing the toss. "It's going to remain similar throughout the course of the game - we have done well in Manchester. We have had two good games in Manchester, and it's about focussing on the basics. We need to remember why we are in the semis."

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson said, "It looks like a good surface. We have played a number of games here. A toss-up with the overheads, but it'll be around all day, so we need to get the job done first up. We are used to the routine, but we have to start afresh after the round robin we have a great opportunity to put up a good performance against a side like India."

There are some positive signs and a few ill omens for Bangladesh ahead of their second and final Test against hosts India, beginning tomorrow in Kanpur. 

The Najmul Hossain Shanto-led Bangladesh will be hoping to bounce back from a 280-run hammering, received in the first Test in Chennai last week, when they step onto the Green Park stadium for their final World Test Championship fixture of the tour tomorrow. 

Given the speculations that the surface at the Green Park stadium will be anything but green -- as per reports from Indian media outlets that the surface to be used in the second Test will have a covering of black soil, aiding spinners more -- Bangladesh can take hope from the fact that a number of their batters have had comparatively better success against spinners than their Indian counterparts in the longer format in recent time. 

Considering the middle and lower-middle order (from position 4-8) of the two sides' batting line-up from the last Test in Chennai, only India batter Rishabh Pant has fared better against spinners than any of the Bangladesh batters in Tests since 2022. 

Pant, who usually approaches any format in an aggressive mindset and is unafraid of using his feet against spinners, averaged 60.62 against spinners since 2022. His staggering strike rate of 117.43 against spinners during this period is also the highest among any batters in the two sides' current squad. 

However, apart from Pant, the other Indian batters who bat in the middle and lower-middle order have not fared better than Bangladesh's batters who batted in the same position in Tests since 2022. During this period, the likes of Virat Kohli (32.78 avg), KL Rahul (21.87 avg), Ravindra Jadeja (39.2 avg), and Ravichandran Ashwin (25.35 avg) have had tougher times against spinners compared to Liton Das (56.44 avg), Shakib Al Hasan (46.33 avg), and Mushfiqur Rahim (46.21 avg). 

Only Mominul Haque (32.18 avg), who usually bats at number four, and Mehedi Hasan Miraz (35.20 avg) down the order have had batting averages below 40 against spinners in Tests since 2022.

Even Bangladesh skipper Shanto, who has been trusted with the crucial number three position in Tests for a while now, has had a healthy 40.69 average against spinners while India captain Rohit Sharma struggled with a 35.13 average against spinners during this period. 

Bangladesh are also likely to have better success with spin against two of India's stalwarts -- skipper Rohit and Kohli. It marked Kohli's 14th dismissal against a spinner in his last 19 innings when the star batter was trapped in front by off-spinner Miraz in the Chennai Test. 

In fact, off-spinners have been particularly effective against Kohli, dismissing him eight times in his last 17 innings. 

Meanwhile, Rohit, who was dismissed by pacers Hasan Mahmud and Taskin Ahmed in the two innings in the Chennai Test, has fallen prey to both off-spinners and left-arm orthodox bowlers seven times in his last 17 innings.  
  
However, the Tigers will have to be wary against the Indian top-order, particularly against Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill. Jaiswal, who has played only 10 Tests since making his debut against the West Indies in July 2023, has played spinners with ease in the longer format, averaging 114.66. 

Gill, meanwhile, has averaged 50.12 in the 31 innings he batted against spinners in his Test career so far.   

Given what the statistics suggest, it would probably bode well for the Tigers if the pacers could claim the wickets of the Gill-Jiaswal duo before they get settled on a track that is suggested to aid the spinners more as time goes on.

The most concerning factor for Bangladesh, however, would be if India decide to bolster their spin arsenal by including left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the game in Kanpur. 

While left-arm wrist spinners are a rare breed in cricket and players very rarely have to encounter such a bowler, one particular fact could give everyone a clear idea as to how the Tigers might fare against Yadav. 

Bangladesh are the worst team when it comes to negotiating leg-spin in Tests, losing a wicket in every 48 deliveries. 

South Africa fare the best against leg-spinners in Tests, surviving 75 deliveries before giving a wicket to a leggie. Following suit in this regard are: India (74 deliveries for each wicket), New Zealand (73 deliveries for each wicket), Australia (70 deliveries for each wicket), England (67 deliveries for each wicket), Pakistan (64 deliveries for each wicket), Sri Lanka (63 deliveries for each wicket), Zimbabwe (60 deliveries for each wicket), Afghanistan (57 deliveries for each wicket) and Ireland (49 deliveries for each wicket).

A number of possibilities as well as concerns pop up when statistics are brought into the equation. But it does not change the fact that the game would be won by the side that will be able to play better cricket on the day.

Bangladesh might be miles behind India when it comes to strengths in the longer format, but some of the positive statistics might just help boost the Tigers' confidence ahead of facing the number two side in the ICC Test rankings at their den.