A half-cooked vintage ODI show
The ongoing three-match series between Bangladesh and Afghanistan has so far felt like looking inside a time capsule and finding a 50-over series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium from the 90s in all its glory.
The sun beating down on a glass shine pitch, batters applying caution throughout the middle phase, and scores of around 250 proving to be more than competitive -- all of this feels like someone has rolled back the clock a few decades.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. On a pitch like this, it's important for at least one top-order batter to bat deep into the innings, eat up dot balls if necessary in the middle phase, and then take the attack to the opponents in the slog overs.
On Saturday, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto tried to do exactly that but eventually, his homage to the classic ODI anchor's innings fell short in the final act -- he lost his wicket when his team needed him to accelerate.
Shanto came to the crease in the fourth over after Tanzid Tamim departed following a 17-ball 22. The southpaw, who had made 47 in the previous match, didn't let the momentum drift away as he and Soumya Sarkar took Bangladesh to 59-1 after the first Powerplay.
The skipper maintained a nice tempo against the new ball but after Afghanistan's star spinner Rashid Khan started operating, Shanto began playing more cautiously.
Perhaps the batting collapse from the previous match was weighing heavy on his mind. In the series opener, after Shanto departed as the third batter, the Tigers lost their final seven wickets for just 11 runs in less than four overs to lose by 92 runs.
While Soumya (35 off 49), Mehedi Hasan Miraz (22 off 33), and Towhid Hridoy (11 off 16) departed, Shanto held one end up but was scoring at a snail's pace in yesterday's game.
After reaching 30 off 35 balls, it took him exactly 62 balls to score his next 30. His patient knock had reduced Bangladesh's scoring rate considerably but it ensured that the innings didn't implode like it did in the previous match.
After seeing off spells from Rashid and Allah Ghazanfar, who had taken six wickets in the previous match, Shanto saw an opportunity to begin his assault from the 41st over against left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote.
After playing a dot ball first up, Shanto charged down the wicket and attempted to hit him over long off. However, he mistimed the shot, and the ball nestled into the hands of Mohammad Nabi.
Shanto had to walk back after making 76 off 119 with a strike rate of 63.86, slower than all of his previous 50-plus knocks in ODIs. Debutant Jaker Ali (37 off 27) and a returning Nasum Ahmed (25 off 24) played handy cameos to get the score to 252-7, but Shanto, undoubtedly, would feel disappointed after failing to put the finishing touch to what could've been a vintage ODI knock.
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