Questions over T20 WC preparations follow Tigers

After some nervy periods, Bangladesh in the end won the second Twenty20 International against Zimbabwe by six wickets thanks to Towhid Hridoy and Mahmudullah Riyad's unbeaten 49-run stand in a rain-interrupted game in Chattogram yesterday.

Despite a 2-0 lead in the series, questions are being raised about the kind of preparation the Tigers are taking ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup by playing Zimbabwe at home.

Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who is yet to take part in the T20I series as he prioritised playing in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) first to get back into rhythm, had highlighted on Saturday that playing Zimbabwe was not ideal preparations.

"It will be wrong if we consider our performance against Zimbabwe and the USA while think about the World Cup. The World Cup will be played in a different place and the more we can handle pressure, chances of us doing well will be higher," Shakib told reporters in Dhaka on Saturday.

He had added that preparations were better for the T20I World Cup in Australia, when the Tigers played New Zealand and Pakistan in a tri-nation series before heading to the World Cup.

While preparations are being questioned, the Tigers may not have challenged themselves enough in this series either. They bowled first on both occasions, but bowling in the evening proved much more difficult with the wet ball.

"I don't think we could have bowled any better. Three rain breaks did not help with the wet ball. I almost stopped bowling in my last over because of the wet outfield and ball," Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza said at the post-match presentations yesterday.

Given that the bowling department is one of the stronger points of the Tigers', it might have proved more useful to challenge the bowlers by bowling second. Yet, having dismantled Zimbabwe top-order in both T20Is so far, the bowlers would be a little disappointed not to bowl out Zimbabwe far more cheaply.

Rishad Hossain, who bagged two wickets for 33 runs, felt there were areas to improve in terms of capitalising on Zimbabwe's top-order failure.

"When four or five wickets go down quickly, if you can take two more from there then instead of 140, they would have been all out for 115-120. This is an area where we can do better," Rishad felt.

Far bigger concern would be the batting in both games. Both openers Liton Das and Tanzid Tamim batted at less than 100 strike-rate while skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto could manage just above 100. The game, if it ended in the 10th over, would have seen Bangladesh lose by three runs as per DLS.

Rishad too was asked about the approach.

"There was no need to play extra shots and boundary balls come our way. If you can be calculative, then the game will become easier," he defended the approach.

Shakib's warning apart, the little time left before the World Cup means Tigers would have to take better decisions to make the best out of this Zimbabwe series.