Before the Asian Cup group stage game between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, there was a feeling that the brand of cricket and tactics applied by the Tigers would be different.
Cricket would be more fearless and fresh under new captain Shakib Al Hasan and technical consultant (fancier term for head coach) Sridharan Sriram.
Sadly, that wasn’t quite the case as Bangladesh ultimately lost the game by seven wickets against a team that played the most fearless cricket in the end.
At the end of the day, three decisions by Captain Shakib could have been made differently and it probably would have been a game-changer, and in the Tigers’ favor.
Win the toss and choose not to bowl
At the time of the draw, the new T20I captain received a raucous welcome from Bangladeshi fans in Sharjah.
It only continued once the T20I captain won the toss for the third time.
What didn’t make sense was when he chose to strike first.
Bangladesh is traditionally a poor chaser in T20I cricket, but as the results of the last T20I World Cup played in the same country showed, beating second gives you the edge.
Australia won the tournament after beating second in most matches and winning them.
There is usually dew in the second innings and the best bowling conditions are early in the first innings.
For Shakib and Sriram – who were looking to play T20I cricket in the same way as other top teams – taking the more conservative strike-first approach made little sense.
The slow start and the loss of the first wickets only proved that it was the wrong decision.
If Bangladesh had gone first and restricted Afghanistan, they would have had a better chance, or at least given themselves the opportunity to try something different and see if things turned out better.
Afif does not beat at number four as promised
Management announced that new Asian Cup vice-captain Afif Hossain would be at bat and number four.
Fans had been calling for Afif to step up in order as the southpaw had been one of the few strikers in Bangladesh to have positive form ahead of the tournament.
But once Bangladesh lost their opening two games, Mushfiqur Rahim came in at number four, instead of Afif, who had been slated for the spot.
Maybe it was done because Shakib Al Hasan was at the crease and the team management wanted to go for a left-right batting combination instead of having two lefties, especially with bowling Mujeeb Ur Rahman .
Maybe it was to try to protect Afif from the early onslaught of Afghan bowlers and bring the more experienced Mushfiqur to the crease to stabilize things with Shakib, but that didn’t pay off as Mushfiq only lasted four deliveries and Afif was in it.
It was another move where a more conservative approach was taken, as had been the case under former captain and manager Mahmudullah Riyadh and Russell Domingo.
Afif played an unremarkable 12-point inning from 15 balls before falling prey to Rashid Khan’s leg rotation.
The death of bowling changes
The Bangladeshi bowlers fought hard and helped them get back into the game, despite only having to defend 127 runs from 120 balls.
After the 14th, Afghanistan needed 63 points from just 36 balls and the pressure was mounting on them.
Mosaddek Hossain, who had a good game with the bat (best score with 48 steps on 31 balls) and then the ball (after removing Afghan captain Mohammad Nabi in his previous over) was not allowed to continue playing at the bowling in the 15th over.
Instead, Shakib turned to the pace of Taskin Ahmed, who had started decently but in the latter conceded two limits and gave up 11 points.
This gave some momentum to the hunt for Afghanistan and in the next game Mahedi Hasan conceded nine points, still two short of what Taskin conceded and below the asking rate by more than 10.
That should have given Shakib the hint that the spin would be the way to go with two overs remaining from Mosaddek and Mahmudullah with no bowl at all.
But instead, Shakib brought in Mustafizur Rahman, and he struggled to maintain his lines and lengths as he conceded 17 points and the equation then was a necessary easy 26 from 18 balls.
Mahmudullah is known for playing the death penalty well and Mosaddek looked dangerous with the ball and playing them might have been the aggressive and original thought that was needed here, but Shakib again chose the more conventional option.
In the end, more than the defeat, Bangladesh will be disappointed with their decisions and their lack of proactivity in the key moments of the match.
They had promised to take a fresher approach to the way they play T20I cricket but did none of that in the first match here.
Bangladesh still has a chance to qualify for the next round with a win over Sri Lanka.
But more than wins and losses, the way they played in Game 1 needs to change if they want Shakib’s stint as captain to count for anything and move the team in a positive direction for the future. long term future.
Shakib and Sriram’s tenure is still in its infancy and fans are hoping they can learn from past mistakes and truly change the way their team approaches and plays T20I cricket.
