Shakib only player with 1k runs, 30 wickets at World Cups

A placard reading "We love you Miraz" held by a Bangladesh fan in the stands of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium yesterday reflected the trust the all-rounder has gained in recent times.

Never shy of taking on responsibilities, Mehedi Hasan Miraz has been skipper Shakib Al Hasan's go-to man as of late.

The 25-year-old once again showed his class in the Tigers' all-important World Cup 2023 opener against Afghanistan in Dharamshala yesterday, producing an all-round performance to guide Bangladesh to a convincing six-wicket win.

Miraz did the job with the ball first -- the off-spinner ended with figures of three for 25 in nine overs, including three maidens. The all-rounder then came in at number three for the first time in ODIs and went on to play a momentum-swinging 57-run knock off 73 deliveries.

It was Miraz's 97-run third-wicket stand with Najmul Hossain Shanto that saw Bangladesh recover from a precarious two for 27 in chase of a paltry 157-run target.

Miraz has often shied away from expressing his own philosophy, remaining in the shadow of the seniors despite having the potential to become the next big thing in Bangladesh cricket.

But it was a different Miraz attending the post-match presser yesterday. Bold, poised, and confident, it was as if Miraz's improvement as a genuine all-rounder had transformed his personality as well. An ever-smiling Miraz is now more confident and specific with his replies.

"I have worked really hard on my batting. I have thought long and hard about it, how I can improve my batting. I prepared myself really well. The team also gave me a lot of opportunities up the order. It is a big deal for me," said Miraz when asked about his mental preparedness in order to bat at any position asked.

In the past 12 months, Miraz batted at various positions -- from coming in at number nine to scoring a century while opening the innings against the same opposition in the last Asia Cup in September.

"Every position poses a different situation. I don't think too much whenever presented with an opportunity. If you think simply, it is better to bat anywhere above number eight. The team gets help if I play well. I face some problems but I don't focus on them. I have to perform well for the team, that's the most important thing," he added.

Miraz, however, admitted that he was nervous initially with the ball in hand after he gave away nine in his first over. But the off-spinner managed to make a comeback, pairing with Shakib to build pressure on the Afghans with some tight bowling.

"When the pacers weren't doing well at the top, it put the spinners under pressure. Shakib bhai got two wickets which boosted the team. We started bowling well from both ends. We didn't expect such a wicket in Dharamhsala, but we got the ball to turn in our first two or three overs. The ball stopped a bit. We shared this information with everyone, about how to bowl in this wicket. We had great communication throughout the game," said Miraz.

The all-rounder has always been handy with the ball in any format, but his recent transformation as a batter unsurprisingly brought the topic of him being the next Shakib in the making for Bangladesh. But for now, Miraz kept quiet on the matter, perhaps not thinking too much about it as well and focusing only on doing his job.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has requested the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) to postpone next month's white-ball series to be played in Greater Noida between July 25 and August 6. 

The ACB could not confirm the venues for the series three months ago and BCB had assumed that the series was not going to materialise. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly allocated two venues for the series, one in Kanpur and another in Greater Noida.

But the BCB did not keep the series in their own scheduling following an earlier postponement and set their calendars to prepare for upcoming tours in Pakistan and India

"We are not ready for the series and we have made plans for training and preparation before heading to Pakistan and India," a top BCB official told The Daily Star today.

Bangladesh are set to play Pakistan in a two-match Test series in August-September as per the FTP calendar and are also scheduled to tour India for two Tests and three T20Is in September-October.

Better showing in this World Test Championship cycle has been on the agenda for Bangladesh and players like Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque and Mehedi Hasan Miraz have been training with Bangladesh Tigers alongside emerging players in a camp which began on May 26 in Mirpur before moving to Sylhet.

Bangladesh T20I skipper Shakib Al Hasan credited the start given by the openers in their six-wicket win (by DLS method) over Afghanistan in the second of the two-match T20I series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. 

Tigers openers Liton Das and Afif Hossain put on a 67-run stand while chasing Afghanistan's 117, with the former scoring a lion's share of the runs in the partnership.

The duo put on 50 runs in the Powerplay which was set at five overs due to the game being reduced to 17 overs per side after rain interrupted proceedings in the first innings.

Despite the brisk start, however, the Tigers had to suffer hiccups when off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed both the openers in the 10th over.

After smashing 50 in the first five, Bangladesh managed to churn out just 20 runs in the next 30 balls.
In the following over, Najmul Hossain Shanto, who scored a six-ball four, played all over a full and straight delivery off pacer Azmatullah Omarzai.

This reduced the Tigers to 76 for the loss of three after 11 overs.

Towhid Hridoy scored a 17-ball 19 but his dismissal to Omarzai in the 15th over made the chase more arduous than it was initially expected to be.

Despite the jitters, Shakib, who took home both the player-of-the-match and the player-of-the–series awards, said that the nerves did not kick in as he believed the start they had, courtesy of the opening stand, had helped to always keep them ahead in the chase.

"No don't think it was nerves. We lost a couple of wickets but given the start we had, we were always ahead," he said in the post-match interview.

The win ensured Bangladesh registered their maiden T20I series win over Afghanistan after they clinched a narrow two-wicket win in the first T20I on Friday.

Shakib came to the crease in the 12th over following the dismissal of Shanto and steered his side to victory with an 11-ball 18-run knock that featured a boundary and a maximum, while Shamim Hossain at the other end hit the winning runs with five balls to spare.

There's no point in head scratching or pondering on ways to turn back time, it's done. Bangladesh have exited the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and boarded their flight back home from England yesterday. However, on their way back, there still may be a few things lingering at the back of their minds. Perhaps such thoughts could lead to imaginary scenarios where the 'what ifs' make the difference between what was and what could have been. Just what if…

Mushy had been a little patient

What are the must-do things while defending a below-par 244, that too against a compact New Zealand side at the biggest stage -- a World Cup game? Well, the message from the pavilion would have been to grab every chance you get. If not literally, grabbing opportunities on the ground become easier when you are wearing a pair of gloves. Creating an opportunity, even a tiny error of judgement from the opposition is induced by a series of small endeavours while in pursuit of your aim. But when the moment comes, you need to wait and make the right call and time it to perfection. Maybe Mushfiqur Rahim -- the man with the gloves behind the stumps for the Tigers -- succumbed to euphoria while thinking about the result and had not been concentrating on the process that needs to be done in order to get a desired outcome when he tried to grab the ball early in an attempt to have Kane Williamson run-out in the 12th over. Mushfiqur knocked the bails off with his arm before grabbing the ball and the Kiwi skipper -- batting on eight at that time -- who was nowhere near the crease, had eventually made his ground and survived, courtesy of that error. Williamson, who was finally dismissed on 40 in the 32nd over, went on to string together a 105-run third-wicket stand with Ross Taylor in a game that the Tigers lost by just two wickets.

GOD LET THE SUN SHINE!

The persistent drizzle at the Country Ground in Bristol on June 11 might not have had a huge impact on the lifestyle of the city's inhabitants but it did mar Bangladesh's chalked out plan or intended route to the semifinal of the World Cup. Going into the World Cup, Bangladesh were expected to beat the likes of Afghanistan, West Indies -- which they did eventually -- and Sri Lanka. And when Bangladesh started their campaign with an unexpected yet well-deserved 21-run victory over South Africa, the Tigers had just made their chances brighter, needing to do the regulation work from then on and a few surprise wins over the powerhouses of cricket to pave their way to a maiden World Cup semifinal. However, it all depended on that game against Sri Lanka -- a side that are one place lower in ICC ODI rankings than Bangladesh -- where the Tigers were clearly the favourites. Unfortunately, the Tigers were kept waiting, maybe with hopes of the rain to stop in Bristol, till the official announcement of the match being abandoned was made, forcing the Tigers to remain content with one point from the inexperienced Sri Lankan side.

SABBIR IMPACTED THE RIGHT TEAM

The team management was probably right on money to give Sabbir Rahman the nod ahead of Mosaddek Hossain for the game against Australia on June 20 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, given Sabbir's reputation and proven ability of playing pace well and better than most in the Tigers' XI. But little did they know that Sabbir's impact in the game would see Australia opener David Warner's bat shine instead of Sabbir himself. Often the destructive Warner does not provide his opposition with any chances but Bangladesh were probably lucky to have been presented with two chances by the left-hander which were both relinquished in the same game. The first opportunity came as early as the fifth over, when Warner went on his back foot to cut a Mashrafe Bin Mortaza delivery towards backward point only to see a perfectly positioned Sabbir going low to his right with both hands and spilling the ball onto the ground. Warner, on just 10, breathed a sigh of relief. By the time the next opportunity came, Warner had inflicted just the right amount of pain as expected after being handed a life early on, as the 32-year old was then batting on 70 in the 26th over. A slight mix-up between him and Usman Khawaja saw Warner run a quarter way to other end but he soon realised that he had to sprint back. A fumble by the same culprit, Sabbir, at mid-on allowed Warner to reach home safely. And this time Warner would stop only after hitting a 147-ball 166 in a game where the Tigers lost by 48 runs and were left wondering what could have happened had they restricted Australia to 30 or 40 runs less than their mammoth 381 for five.

TAMIM HAD NOT DONE THAT

Tamim Iqbal usually takes these types of catches nine times out of ten during fielding drills at practice sessions. But the one time he would miss the catch was unfortunately during Bangladesh's must-win game against India on July 2 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. This time it was not a call for catch by a fielding coach after hitting the ball in the air with a willow during practice sessions as it was India opener Rohit Sharma who had mistimed an attempted pull shot off Mustafizur Rahman in the fifth over of a high intensity World Cup tie. Tamim, running to his left from deep square leg, covered almost 15 yards and did all the hard work before applying the finishing touch -- catching the ball. But to everyone's surprise he spilled the ball after touching it with the palm of his hand before watching it ricochet off his chest and fall to the ground. Rohit, who was on nine, moved onto 10 after taking a single and survived. But you don't expect a batsman of Rohit's calibre to stop there, right? Shrugging off the heart in hand moment, Rohit kept on inflicting misery on Bangladesh, scoring a magnificent 104 off 92 deliveries. The right-hander was adjudged player-of-the-match in their 28-run victory over the Tigers. 

THERE WAS A CLONE OF SHAKIB?

While wondering about what could have happened for Bangladesh in the ongoing World Cup, imagining something totally absurd would not do much harm. The Tigers are out of the World Cup but one particular Tiger from the squad still remains in the mega event. Bangladesh's ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is well in contention for the player-of-tournament award after his excellent World Cup campaign. The prestigious award would certainly be at the top of Shakib's personal achievement's shelf and it would not be a surprise to see him add the trophy to his other accolades. Playing in eight matches, Shakib has scored fifty or more in seven of them -- with a score of 41 against Australia being the only anomaly. The all-rounder scored back-to-back hundreds in this World Cup and also smashed five fifties. Shakib, who finished with 606 runs, became only the third player ever after Sachin Tendulkar and Matthew Hayden to have scored 600 runs in one edition of the World Cup. While Sachin and Hayden did not part-take with the ball, Shakib has also scalped 11 wickets in the mega event to see him ahead of anyone else in the race to be adjudged the player-of-the-tournament. Maybe now the team management will be left pondering on ways to get a clone of Shakib to further bolster the side.