Shakib alone finds a way

Three sixes off three successive balls, two of them hooked off bouncers delivered by a genuinely fast bowler. 15 minutes later, the score read 305 for three after 40 overs. Nine balls later, a total of 321 was chased down in just 41.3 overs. The batting team were none of England, India or Australia. In a performance that consummately upended perceptions, Bangladesh beat West Indies by seven wickets playing a style of cricket that has not been associated with the Tigers. The second-highest successful chase in World Cup history brought the Tigers’ campaign roaring back to life at the County Ground in Taunton yesterday in the presence of a delighted, sloganeering crowd of Bangladeshi expatriates.

The style of play may have been a surprise, but the man spearheading the win was not. As Liton Das swivel-pulled the last of a plethora of bouncers to the square leg fence, Shakib Al Hasan crossed over to the striker’s end and, with a fist-pump and a smile, calmly uprooted the stumps much like he had extracted the sting from a stubbornly aggressive West Indies attack over the past three hours. He had to put it back because, as he said later, ‘they do not let you keep the zinc bails’, but there was no going back from the notion that Bangladesh had served further notice of their prowess.

Shakib regained top spot in the 2019 World Cup run charts with his second successive ton -- yesterday’s unbeaten 99-ball 124 following the 121 he struck against England on June 8 -- but more importantly, helped lift Bangladesh to fifth in the 10-team World Cup table. Liton, replacing Mohammad Mithun in the eleven as Bangladesh’s first change of the campaign, marked his World Cup debut by showcasing his destructive elegance to the full. His utter ease against high pace, as illustrated by those three sixes off Shannon Gabriel in the 38th over. The right-hander finished on an unbeaten 94 off 69 balls with eight boundaries and four sixes.

The pair put on an unbroken 189-run fourth-wicket stand in just 22.3 overs after Mushfiqur Rahim was out in the 19th over, nicking down the leg side off Oshane Thomas.

At that point, West Indies may have breathed a sigh of relief because they appeared shell-shocked up to that point as first Soumya Sarkar (29 off 23 balls), then Tamim Iqbal and Shakib kept dispatching their bouncers -- which they would not stop bowling -- with ease. While historically Bangladesh have been uncomfortable against the fast, short ball, they have not looked so in this tournament as they dealt with South Africa, New Zealand and England pacers pretty comfortably. However, they have rarely attacked it with as much authority as they did yesterday.

Tamim was on 16 off 27 when Soumya departed, guiding a bouncer to slip after he had hit the previous one for six over point off Russell, and in Shakib’s company Tamim started attacking more -- cutting and pulling West Indies skipper Jason Holder for four in the 10th over. A forceful back-foot cut through the covers off Gabriel showed that Tamim was regaining some form, but he was unlucky to be dismissed for a 53-ball 48 by a brilliant piece of fielding from Sheldon Cottrell, who fielded a straight drive off his own bowling and threw down the stumps at the striker’s end with a diving Tamim found just short.

But the real show started when most Bangladesh fans would have started despairing -- when Mushfiqur walked back dejectedly with the score on 133 for two. Shakib, who had been unrelenting with his assault on the short balls from West Indies’ all-pace attack, carried on in his vein as West Indies also helped with a predictable line of attack.

“They had two areas -- either full or short,” Shakib said after the match.

When he was not employing the short-arm pulls to the square leg or fine leg fence, he was fetching bouncers from outside off stump to the boundary in front of square on the leg side. He displayed his full complement of cut shots, for which no captain has yet been able to set a field when Shakib is in form, and he has been in this World Cup. When West Indies over-pitched, Shakib pummelled them over the top or along the ground straight back past the bowler. He was lucky when on 55 as a top-edged pull landed safely between Gabriel at fine leg and the backpedalling wicketkeeper Shai Hope.

Liton was an equal partner as, after a watchful initial period, he started to unfurl his wide array of strokes, mixing adventure with the class those who saw his century in the Asia Cup final would be well acquainted with.

Earlier, at the halfway stage, West Indies’ 321 for eight appeared to be a good total, especially after they were 159 for three in the 33rd over. Skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, under fire because of his iffy form in the first three matches, had gotten things off on the right foot for Bangladesh with a maiden to start off against Chris Gayle, who was also tied down by Mohammad Saifuddin at the other end before surrendering his wicket to the young pacer. Mashrafe ended his opening spell wicketless, but only having given 24 runs off seven overs.

After a 116-run second-wicket stand between Hope and Evin Lewis, it was Shakib who broke through by getting Lewis caught at long off for 70, and then dismissed Nicholas Pooran in the 33rd over. However, Shimron Hetmyer took advantage of poor bowling from Mustafizur Rahman, Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Mosaddek Hossain to erect a 83-run partnership in just 7.2 overs with Hope. Mustafizur, however, redeemed himself by claiming the wickets of both Hetmyer for a 26-ball 50 and Andre Russell in the 40th over, after which Bangladesh pulled things back.

It later turned out that they did not need to as it deprived Taunton’s Bangladeshi faithful -- of which there will be more after yesterday -- a chance to see some more overs of fine, attacking batting from the Tigers.

“They are India and we are Bangladesh and that is the difference between the two sides. In the field, who will play well [will win]. Since it is a big tournament, if you go by the names then you will be going on the backfoot.”

Soumya Sarkar, Bangladesh player

When in Dhaka, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is always casting his eyes towards Narail, his hometown. Having grown up in the village the right-arm pacer is more at home in quieter settings, away from the noise of city life and the singular focus placed on him as the face of the object of the country’s obsession.

While Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK, is nowhere near as frenzied and chaotic as Bangladesh’s one-stop metropolis, there was still much noise surrounding Bangladesh’s precarious position in the World Cup semifinal race. Perhaps that is why, with a gap of around five days between the team’s next practice session on June 30 ahead of their virtual knockout encounter against India in Edgbaston on July 2, Mashrafe and his family opted for a day and a half of quiet repose in the rural comforts of the Welsh region of Snowdonia.

Yesterday afternoon, Mashrafe reached the small town of Snowdon, a town in Gwynnedd county, built around Wales’s highest mountain bearing the same name. They had been fortunate with the weather as brilliant sunshine illuminated the road leading there, weaving through rock-capped green mountains and deep blue lakes. However, a bit of the good fortune ran out by the time they reached Snowdon. Mashrafe and his family -- as well as Mehedi Hasan Miraz and his newlywed -- were eager to take a quaint steam train ride up to the peak, but were disappointed when the ‘Mountain Railway’ staff informed him that they were booked solid for the day and that he would have to come back today.

However, such are the bounties of the region that another attraction was not too far away, and the families decided to go to the picturesque Swallow Waterfall around 15 miles back the way they came.

Ostensibly, Mashrafe may have been looking for some time away from cricket, but cricket never leaves his mind. As he was having some snacks at the Mountain

Railway station, he talked about the ongoing West Indies-India match, speculating on the kind of wicket they may get against India on July 2.

He may also have been seeking anonymity, but he soon enough a Bangladeshi sought him out for a selfie. There is no true getaway for a Bangladesh captain, it seems.

The Hyatt Regency in Birmingham became a busier hotel over the last two days. When the Bangladesh team arrived here on June 25, it became a hub of sorts for subcontinental visitors in the stronghold of the south-east Asian community in Britain, but it reached another level on Friday when the Indian team arrived at the same hotel. For once on their World Cup trek through the UK, Bangladesh’s supporters will be in the minority.

Bangladesh had faced the full volume of Indian support during their Champions Trophy semifinal in 2017 here, and Indians swamped the streets on the day of the match and overwhelmed the Bangladeshi support inside the arena, much as their team did to their opponents. So when Bangladesh take on India in their World Cup match at Edgbaston on July 2, they will be underdogs in every sense -- in terms of playing ability, tournament position and recent results between the two teams.

It is an encounter that, depending on whether or not India beat hosts England today, Bangladesh will have to win to stay alive in the race to the semifinals. On Friday night, while Birmingham was abuzz with weekend revellers, Mashrafe came out in front of the hotel for some fresh air and while that would have caused a small commotion of Bangladeshi selfie-hunters on other nights, Mashrafe was more or less left alone as Indian fans tried to talk their way through tough hotel security and failed. Mashrafe recalled how overwhelming the support for India was the last time.

Although the match was still four days away, the wheels in Mashrafe’s head were already turning about finding a way past a team that was yet to be defeated in the World Cup. Would it be better to bat first or bowl first if they won the toss? They lost by nine wickets after batting first and scoring 264 in 2017. Bowling first would open the possibility of them being batted out of the game as they were done by the two other strong contenders for the title -- Australia and England.

He had in the past expressed relief after losing the toss. Would it be better to lose the toss this time too?

“Maybe,” Mashrafe mused as the deluge of Indian fans swept past. He was wondering what score would be enough to win against the strong Indian lineup if they did bat first. 340 seemed to be the number. But for that, they would have to see the wicket, and Mashrafe did not yet know which strip they would use for the match. Such were the worries and conflicts that constitute the mind of a captain heading into what may become a sudden-death match against the strongest team of the tournament. It could be said that Bangladesh, ranked eighth, had done enough by staying alive this deep into the tournament and impressing all and sundry with their performance in hostile conditions.

“To tell you the truth, none of my team are satisfied with what we have done so far. We have played well, but while it would surprise many outsiders if we reached the semis, I can say for sure that no one in the team would be surprised,” Mashrafe said.

Having played their last match against Afghanistan on June 24, many Bangladesh players were away in various places of the UK on vacation. Mashrafe and opener Tamim Iqbal were among those who came back on Friday. Others joined the team yesterday and today Bangladesh are set to undergo a practice session to prepare for the crucial World Cup encounter. There will be much for the team to finalise over the next two days.