Bangladesh bowlers struggle in first 10 overs once again

Published at 01:36 pm July 3rd, 2019

Bangladesh's Mashrafe bin Mortaza bowls during their World Cup match against India in Birmingham Tuesday Dhaka Tribune/Md Manik from Birmingham

Bangladesh failed to get any wicket in first 10 overs in three out of seven matches and only once they got get maximum two wickets in that crucial juncture of the game

Lack of bite and aggression from Bangladesh bowlers in the first 10 overs exposed the Tigers yet again, as India made a good start against them in the ongoing 2019 World Cup.

Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat without any doubt as the pitch where Bangladesh and India were playing had been used two days ago during the India-England match.

Bangladesh needed a good start against the strong Indian batting lineup but the bowlers and fielders failed to create pressure early in the innings.

In-form Rohit Sharma almost gave away his wicket in the fifth over but Tamim Iqbal dropped a chance in deep square leg which proved costly for Bangladesh in the end.

The two Indian openers batted confidently in the first 20 overs as the Bangladesh bowlers failed to create any significant chance during that period of time after Tamim’s drop. It was not a batting paradise but Tigers’ bowlers looked toothless against Rohit and his opening partner Lokesh Rahul.

And this is not the first instance Bangladesh have failed to produce a good start with the bowl in the ongoing World Cup. Bangladesh failed to get any wicket in first 10 overs in three out of seven matches and only once they got get maximum two wickets in that crucial juncture of the game.

In the first match of Tigers in the ongoing tournament at the Oval, South Africa scored 51 runs in first 10 overs Oval by losing one wicket to spinner Mehedi Hasan while chasing 330.

In the second match at the same venue, New Zealand scored 55 in first 10 overs losing both the wickets to left-arm spinner Shakib al Hasan.

At Cardiff in Tigers’ third match, England scored 67 runs without losing any wicket.

West Indies scored 32 runs in Bangladesh’s fourth match at Taunton with Mohammad Saifuddin taking one wicket.

In their next match, Australia scored 63 runs at Trentbridge without losing any wicket.

In Bangladesh’s sixth match, Afghanistan scored 48 runs without losing any either.

But their worst start came against India yesterday as Rohit and Rahul formed a 180-run stand the highest opening stand till date in this World Cup and the pairs made 69 in first 10 overs.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza has failed to take any wickets in his opening spells so far in the World Cup. Left arm-spinner Mustafizur Rahman and right arm pacer Mohammad Saifuddin has been less than impressive in the first 10-15 overs as well.

It was learned that both Mustafiz and Saifuddin felt uncomfortable to bowl with the new ball and therefore, skipper Mashrafe has to bear to the responsibility of bowling in the first 15 overs.

Interestingly, both Mustafiz and Saifuddin look completely different when the ball gets old and rough when compared to their bowling within the first powerplay.

In comparison to other top teams in the ODI format, Bangladesh pacers have moderate pace which does not help the cause of creating pressure to the opponent in the first few overs.

Mashrafe is bowling around 120-125 kph in these days while Mustafiz and Saifuddin bowls around the mid 130s. But in other teams, for example, Australia have Mitchel Satrc, Pat Cummins, England have Mark Wood, Jofra Archer; New Zealand have Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson; India have Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami; South Africa have Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi who can hit the deck with 140KMPH regularly while also may raise the speed up to 150KMPH occasionally.

Even in the relative slow pitch at Edgbaston today, Bumrah bowled a ball which was clocked 150 KMPH in the sixth over during the Bangladesh innings.

It does not mean pace is the only way to getting wickets. Bangladesh have not had that express fast bowler in the last few years but Tigers pacers kept tight line and length in recent past which gave them success. However, during this World Cup, that thing has been missing too which affected Bangladesh bowling in almost every match.

MATCH 40

INDIA INNINGS R B

Rahul c Mushfiqur b Rubel 77 92

Rohit c Liton b Soumya 104 92

Kohli c Rubel b Mustafizur 26 27

Pant c Mosaddek b Shakib 48 41

Pandya c Soumya b Mustafizur0 2

Dhoni c Shakib b Mustafizur 35 33

Karthik c Mosaddek b Mustafizur 8 9