Carrying the same old headache into 2024

"At the beginning of the series, we spoke about what we have done before and that we want to do better than that. So, in that sense, I think this is a very successful tour," Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha reflected on how it went for the Tigers in their final series of 2023.

Hathurusingha was spot on. Bangladesh did wrap the year up on a very sweet note -- registering maiden ODI and T20I wins and also recorded their best outcome in a T20 series, a 1-1 draw with one game washed out, against the Black Caps in New Zealand.

But one aspect of the Tigers still remains a big headache. An upbeat Bangladesh will carry good momentum into the next year, but with that, they will also take along the disappointment of not finding answers to their batting woes even in their best-ever year in the shortest format. Barring the three matches played in the Asian Games, the Tigers have won nine of the 11 T20Is played this year.

In fact, instability and fragility have been constant features of the Tigers' batting regardless of the format. The ODI World Cup debacle in India was also the by-product of a misfiring batting line-up, among many other issues.

From misjudging the nature of the surface, nonsensical shotmaking, and faulty approach all the way down to just not being aware of their own capabilities with the willow -- the list of worries regarding Bangladesh's batting seems to be endless. Hathurusingha, however, focused more on the former than anything else when he analysed the Tigers' 110 all out in 19.2 overs in a game they ended up losing by 17 runs [via DLS] in Mount Maunganui yesterday.

"We actually discussed after two overs that this is not going to be a 160-run wicket, but a 140 or 150-run wicket. But, of course, we did not achieve that. We did not bat well. We were 84 for four in the 10th over, so you are not going to win many games doing that," Hathurusingha explained.

Initial misjudgement of the surface, however, barely justifies Soumya Sarkar getting trapped in front trying to play across the line in the very first over, Rony Talukdar lacking the skill required to fend off a delivery hurled at his pads at around 148kph, Afif Hossain making a fool of himself by going down the track against a spinner to only somehow inside edge one off his pads to the keeper or Shamim Hossain failing yet again to prove his worth at number six.

It seemed as if the players were instructed to have a go at the Kiwi bowlers, even when the pitch perhaps merited a different approach, without having a proper plan in mind.

The first game that the Tigers were able to chase down a mediocre total, despite a top-order wobble, was mostly due to an anchor role played at the top by Liton Das, who remained unbeaten for a team-high 42 in that game in Napier.

Like in this series, most of Bangladesh's wins this year were due to outstanding performances from the bowlers, especially the pacers who bailed the Tigers out even when backed into a corner.

Hathurusingha had jokingly asked the media during this series for suggestions as to "what could be done" regarding the batting that had left him clueless. Discounting the witticism, the Sri Lankan may as well start looking for answers if the Tigers hope for their 2023 T20 success materialise into a successful World Cup campaign in June 2024.