Commentary by Athar Ali Khan: Disappointing performance from Bangladesh but my hopes are still high

Athar Ali Khan, former member of the Bangladesh Cricket team and broadcaster representing Tigers' voice, gives his post-match take on Bangladesh vs England, ICC World Cup 2023, to The Daily Star Opinion. 

I thought winning the toss and choosing not to bat first was not a bad decision but in the end it didn't turn out well for us solely because Dawid Malan was absolutely brilliant with the bat. 140 with 107 deliveries. To be able to put that innings together, as he's been in terrific touch, he's been scoring consistently. On top of that when they added 115 from the first wicket, 52 from Jonny Bairstow, it looked like it was going to be a very big score. Bangladesh could have done a little bit better with the ball. But the first three wickets – Dawid Malan at 140 runs, Jonny Bairstow at 52, and Joe Root at 82 – took the game away from Bangladesh. 

It was disappointing to see how the tigers bowled in the first 10 overs. They took their time. Because England was also under pressure. Losing to New Zealand earlier on. They earned 61 without losing a wicket, 67 in the next 10, 60 between 20 and 30 overs. But from 30 to 40 overs they really stepped on the gas. They put up 111 runs with losing 2 wickets. Bangladesh came back strongly in the last 10 overs but I thought it was a little bit too late. In the last 10 overs consuming only 66 runs and took 6 wickets. But by then England had scored 364 runs. That's already a massive total for that pitch in Dharamshala. 

It was a bit of a surprise for me when Shakib Al Hasan completed his full quota of overs in 30-32 overs. He did pick up the wicket of Jonny Bairstow. In the end Shariful Islam picked up 3 for 75. Mahedi Hasan got 4 for 71. But frankly surprised not to see our front line bowlers like Taskin Ahmed, who only bowled 6 overs, 1 for 38. And also Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who was the player of the match in the first match, only bowled 6 overs, was expensive yes, none for 55. But surprised to see the front line bowlers not bowling their full quota of overs. Mostafiz, expensive, none for 70.

England just batted well. They were very very good with the bat. We know the brand of cricket that England plays. 

Poor start from Bangladesh, a disappointing start apart from the classy Liton Kumar Das. Good to see him back in form. Who made 76 of just 66 deliveries. But there was no support from anyone else. Yes Mushfiqur came but it was a little bit too late. Because we lost our first wicket at the score of 14, we lost our second wicket at a score of 14, Tanzid Hasan Tamim chasing a wide delivery and then Nazmul Hasan Shanto, the man in form, played a shot in his very first ball which went up in the air, it was caught. They were 3 down for 26 and 4 out for 49 the game was done and dusted at that point. 

Mushfiqur Rahim fought hard, 51 of 64, Towhid Hridoy batting at number 7 got 39 at 61, difficult because England has got a very strong bowling line up. In the end, bowled out at 227. It is important for everyone to understand, to put up a good performance everyone has to work hard.

In this condition, considering 364, we need Bangladesh to bat better. It is a difficult chase, I wanted more from Liton and more from Mushfiqur Rahim. Top order, apart from Liton Kumar Das, Tanzid, Shakib, Nazmul need to put up 

Disappointing performance from Bangladesh but my hopes are still high. I was expecting a fight till the last ball, which didn't happen. I am expecting the fight to continue, especially against New Zealand.

Athar Ali Khan is former member of the Bangladesh Cricket Team and broadcaster representing Tigers' voice. His twitter handle is @AtharAliKhan97

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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