An entertaining critique on our T-20 campaign

A sports correspondent of a Bangla national daily covering the New Zealand-Bangladesh match in Kolkata was apparently puzzled over how crowd support at the Eden Garden swayed from one side to the other. 

He expected, in his conventional way of thinking, that neighbouring Bangladesh would have more support from Kolkata crowds than far away New Zealand. He was proved both right and wrong. 

Well, when Bangladesh was fielding to New Zealand's batting the stadium roared to Mustafizur's devastating 5/22 spell. The Black Caps folded up within 145 runs largely due to Satkhira wonderboy's slower off cutters difficult to read from his effortless pacy bowling style. A 'Joy to watch', seasoned commentators sang in praise of the young lad.

So far so good, but the same crowd switched support to New Zealand almost 180 degrees when the Black Caps' spin attack had Bangladesh skittle to its lowest T-20 score – 70 runs. For the first time the margin of defeat was 75, being larger than runs Bangladesh had put on board. 

Boria Majumder, a cricket writer and commentator from Kolkata, when asked by BBC about Bangladesh's debacle, said there was no planning in batting at all. The problem with opening batsmen remained, tested run-getters like Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman came down the batting order; in fact, the chase was thrown off gear by some out of form batsmen.

It was also 'inexplicable' how in Eden Garden, of all places, Pakistan could garner support vis-à-vis Bangladesh having been given a target of 202 runs to prevail over Pakistan in the opening super ten round. Only the Bangladeshi crowd stood by the national side through thick and thin.

Given the high passion aroused by India-Pakistan matches, one might have expected a slice of that rivalry to radiate through some kind of a cheer for Bangladesh struggling through an uphill chase of a big Pakistani total. Again that was not to be! 

The explanations for such apparently contrarian, if not contradictory, behavioural pattern among crowds could be two-fold: First, it may be a sign of maturity to value performance over any sentimental nationality leanings; and secondly, crowd psychology prefers to be on the winning side.

One wishes though, things were that simplistic, especially between India and Pakistan, and in an extended sense, the two countries' approach to the rising momentum of Bangladesh cricket. 

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee presided over cricket diplomacy bringing legendary Pakistani cricketers Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis under the same panoply with Indian legends Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag and above all, Amitabh Bachchan. This goodwill gesture followed on the heels of Pakistan preferring Eden Garden to Dharmashala in Himachal Pradesh as the venue apparently prompted by security reasons. Whether the change of arena according to Pakistan's choice or the goodwill gesture of cricketing bonhomie prior to the match did anything to pare down the effect of Pakistan's defeat in the encounter, belongs to the realm of speculation. But this much is certain that the Pakistani team on arrival back home had to endure chants – 'shame, shame'. Waqar Younis, chief coach of Pakistani side, whose extended term ends in May offered his apologies and said he was ready to resign. 

An AFP report sourced in Pakistan stated that barring 'low ranking' Bangladesh side, Pakistan couldn't win against any side in the Super 10.

Contrast this 'low ranking' snide remark with a noted British commentator underscoring Bangladesh's new profile as it were in the following words, "India had a 'narrow escape from Bangladesh' in her encounter with the country." If fact, the narrowest of escape it was when the equation was two runs and three balls with two set Bangladeshi batsmen opting for unnecessarily big hits.

Were it not for that Indian victory over Bangladesh, India would have been out of reckoning. 'What ifs' have been a constant companion of cricketing history that courted oblivion in the face of what is and who emerges the winner at the end of the day. 

Bangladesh's another standout performance was the close match with Australia in the shadows of Tamim not playing and Taskin and Arafat Sunny reported for suspect bowling action. Those who replaced the bowlers in limbo couldn't perform well enough. Mashrafe's captaincy, otherwise praiseworthy, came under criticism in this match – field placement, sticking to expensive bowlers and the like.

One more thing – the batters must acquire the skill of placing shots not into the hands of the fielders but through to the fence or over it. 

We must learn from our mistakes that have been too widely discussed and sharply pinpointed to bear any repetition. 

The writer is Associate Editor, The Daily Star.