Tigers go down without a fight

Bangladesh's final Super 12 game of the ICC T20 World Cup summed up the sordid state of the Tigers, who displayed poor body language and no fighting instincts as they were crashed to an eight-wicket defeat against Australia after being bundled out for just 73 runs at the Dubai International Stadium yesterday.

It was Bangladesh's second-lowest total in T20Is and only three batsmen were able to reach double-figures. Young Shamim Hossain's 19 was the top score as Bangladesh somehow regressed even further from a poor batting display that saw them bundled out for 84 runs against South Africa in their previous game.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa was unlucky to miss out on a hattrick but the 29-year-old can take solace from bagging a maiden five-wicket haul. He ended with the figures of five for 19 from four overs.

Australia chased the target in just 6.2 overs, losing two wickets, as they won their third game in four matches in the Super 12 stage. Skipper Aaron Finch smashed 40 off just 20 balls with four sixes and two fours.

The Bangladeshi players may well breathe a huge sigh of relief considering that the nightmarish tournament has finally come to an end, albeit with the caveat that they have endured yet another clean sweep in the main round of the ICC T20 World Cup.

The defeat also ruled Bangladesh out of the race to qualify directly to the Super 12 of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup.

Not more than three months ago, the same Bangladesh team had beaten Australia 4-1 in a T20I series on home soil after manufacturing slow and low Mirpur surfaces.

That winning momentum nor the confidence gained helped Bangladesh yesterday as Mahmudullah and his troops faced the harsh realities of their inability to tackle top-class bowling.

Bangladesh's fortunes did not change since a shocking six-run defeat to Scotland in their opening game in the first round of the World Cup but the Tigers have only themselves to blame. Despite managing to reach the Super 12 after beating Oman and Papua New Guinea in the qualifying round, it has been a disappointing show in all three departments of the game from the Tigers.

With an aim of reaching the semifinal of the mega event, the entire Bangladesh team seemed to have lost their focus, gauged by controversial statements from captain Mahmudullah and senior players like Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim

But rather than looking to improve their performance on the field, Bangladesh continued to repeat mistakes in all three departments. Despite being agonisingly close to winning against Sri Lanka and West Indies, the Tigers lost due to some dropped catches and poor decision-making.

Apart from those two games, Bangladesh's lack of ability in the shortest format was brutally exposed as they were totally outplayed by England, South Africa and Australia.

It will be important for Bangladesh to take lessons from this disastrous World Cup outing and bring drastic changes to their mentality and planning. Or else, the Tigers' fortunes may not change on the world stage in the coming days either.