All’s well that ends well: Saifuddin

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.

In a bombshell press conference on Thursday, Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said that he had informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that the upcoming South Africa Test series at home in October-November will be the last Test series of his career.

Following the fall of the Awami League government, of which he was an MP, Shakib has not returned to the country. He feels that if he can head back to the country and leave on his own terms, he will play the series against South Africa, which is to be his last Test series.

It is not just Test cricket that Shakib is set to leave as he further informed that he will not be playing T20 format for the next few series as he feels it is time to move on from the format.

Asked if he would play the T20I series against India, starting on October 6, he informed that he feels he has already played his last T20I.

"I think I have played my last match at the World Cup [against Afghanistan]," he added. 

When asked if the Champions Trophy in 2025 would be his last foray in the ODI format, he simply said "I hope so. Nine more ODIs."

With schools only half closed, an expectant crowd at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium had rallied around to make it appear a brilliant occasion on the opening day of the second Test between Bangladesh and hosts India yesterday.

Bad weather, however, played spoilsport for the most part. The anticipation was huge in the morning despite overnight rain making for a delayed start. The crowd would have loved seeing India bat.

"I want to see [Jasprit] Bumrah in action, but I want India to bat first," a student named Mayank, who was perhaps taking advantage of school being closed till 12 pm to allow students to watch the game, told The Daily Star in the morning.

But Rohit Sharma opted to bowl. That was not disappointing at the beginning for the home fans as Bumrah, in particular, made his presence felt.

Openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam did not carry on for long as Bangladesh were in a spot of bother on 29 for two following Akash Deep's double blow. It was skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto who would take confident strides to put some pressure on India.

When rain came in, leading to early Lunch, the Tigers had reasons to be content at 74 for two.

Shanto was looking so good, following a team-high 82 in the preceding innings in Chennai. It was thus disappointing when a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery trapped him in front after a 51-run stand with Mominul Haque. The latter was deliberate in his ploys, often chancing shots when width was given. A confident off-drive saw him take the Tigers past 100.

Mushfiqur Rahim, meanwhile, was settling in as well, but then rain had the last laugh -- this time so unyielding that not only was the rest of the day's play wiped out, but even the customary post-day press conference of the two teams was cancelled simply because the teams could not come into the press box through the waterlogged ground.

People left the arena early, shrugging perhaps at what could have been a brilliant day of cricket had the conditions not intervened.

There was heavy rain in the evening around the stadium again yesterday. Much now depends on how fast the ground recovers for the second day's play today, which is another opportunity for the huge crowd that came in to catch Test action here after a three-year gap.

Saud Shakeel was nowhere near World Cup selection three months ago but a thrilling half-century in Friday's win over the Netherlands underlined his remarkable and rapid rise up the cricketing ladder.

Shakeel actually made his ODI debut in England in 2021 but he was largely out of the reckoning until he cracked an impressive double century in a Test in Sri Lanka in July.

The diminutive 28-year-old, originally seen as a Test specialist, was included in Pakistan's squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan in August but he played only one match where he scored just nine.

The team management, however, led by strategy and analytics manager Hasan Cheema and manager Rehan-ul Haq, backed him and convinced chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq to retain him for the Asia Cup.

Pakistan crashed out of the tournament with defeats against India and Sri Lanka in the tournament.

Perhaps not playing in a single match did Shakeel a favour -- he was included in the 15-man World Cup squad in place of allrounder Faheem Ashraf.

Shakeel showed glimpses of what he can do in the warm-up match against New Zealand with a gritty 53-ball 75.

On Friday, he became the toast of Pakistan's batting with an innings-reviving 52-ball 68 studded with a six and nine boundaries, guiding Pakistan to a fighting 282 after a precarious 38-3.

"I am very pleased to help my team win," said Shakeel at the post-match ceremony. "I tried to follow my basics and be positive for my team despite having early nerves."

Shakeel added 120 for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Rizwan who also scored 68.

Pakistan then dismissed the Netherlands for 205 in 41 overs to kick-start their World Cup campaign with an 81-run win.

Shakeel admitted he was lucky at the start.

"I was lucky to get early boundaries," said the left-hander. "We (with Rizwan) discussed that the pressure would transfer if we score, which did happen."

'Next big star' 

Before his Test baptism against England in December last year, former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed had predicted Shakeel would make his mark.

"Shakeel has the skill and temperament to become a successful star," Sarfaraz said last year. "Take my word, Shakeel will be the next big star for Pakistan."

Shakeel was the stand-out performer for Pakistan in an otherwise 3-0 annihilation by England who carried on their fiery Bazball approach of demolishing the opponents.

Shakeel scored 346 in six innings -- second highest from Pakistan after Babar Azam's 348.

An unbeaten maiden Test century against New Zealand in Karachi in January put him on track but the double hundred against Sri Lanka changed his Wold Cup fortunes.

So consistent has been Shakeel's scoring that he became the first batter in Test cricket's 146-year history to pass 50 in each of his first seven Tests: his remarkable record, in fact, stands at six half-centuries and two centuries at a Bradmanesque average of 87.50.

"I've been working hard," said Shakeel. "I knew I'd be batting No. 5, I tried to improve my shots, attacking options and be brave. The coaching staff has given me confidence."

And he duly dedicated his man-of-the-match award to his domestic team coach Hanif Malik.

Bangladesh forward Tohura Khatun scored a brace and defender Afeida Khandaker netted one in a thumping 3-1 win over India in their final Group A game in the SAFF Women's Championships at the Dashrath Rangasala stadium in Nepal on Wednesday.  

Photo: BFF

All thee of Bangladesh's goals came in the first half. Afeida scored the opener in the 18th minute with a clever chip from inside the box after India goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu half-cleared the corner kick from Sabina Khatun.

Photo: BFF

Tohura doubled Bangladesh's lead right before the half-hour mark, bundling home following a cross from Rituporna. She doubled her tally with a brilliant curler from outside the box after being teed up by Shamsunnahar Jr before half-time to make it 3-0 for the defending champions.

Photo: BFF

But goalkeeper Rupna Chakma let Dalima Chhibber's cross slip through her fingers, with Bala Devi ideally positioned to head the ball home in the 44th minute.

Photo: BFF

Bangladesh, who drew 1-1 against Pakistan in their opening fixture, go into the semis as group winners and will take on Group B runners-up.