Desk Report:
Bangladesh team fielding coach James Payment got angry with the fielders. The way Shariful and Mehedi were missing in fielding practice yesterday evening, he kept shouting and explaining – this mistake cannot be made at all. Yet, mistakes continued to be made in Bangladesh team practice. Mistakes in practice are forgivable. If the Litons repeat the mistake against the Afghans today in Abu Dhabi, then Bangladesh will be eliminated from the group stage of the Asia Cup this time too.
Bangladesh lost a low-scoring match against Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup. The memory of the 2024 T20 World Cup match is also vivid. Shakib and Shanta could not do the match that Bangladesh won against the Afghans in St. Vincent and went to the semi-finals.
When the game was 20 overs, Bangladesh seemed to be a little behind against Afghanistan. Today’s match is in the desert, Rashid and Naveed know the conditions of the Arab Emirates like the back of their hands. This is their ‘second home’.
Bangladesh is playing in Afghanistan’s second home with a tough equation. If they lose, Bangladesh will be eliminated before the Super Four. Even if they win, the Super Four is not guaranteed. The Litons will have to look forward to the Sri Lanka-Afghanistan match in Abu Dhabi the day after tomorrow. The rest will be discussed later, but they have to win against Afghanistan first.
The task is difficult, even though it is very difficult, the team’s spin consultant Mushtaq Ahmed does not want to lose ‘confidence’. He wants his disciples to believe that they can do it. But it is difficult to ‘believe’ in advance that they will achieve something big with the ability and capability of Bangladesh’s batters. The Bangladesh team has been preparing for a month straight before the Asia Cup. They have taken special initiation from a power-hitting coach. But so far, there has been no sign of that power-hitting. Bangladesh has managed to hit a total of 3 sixes in the last two matches.
Where is the belief that when you go to the wicket, you understand the character of T20, ‘We can also hit big hits’? Mushtaq, who came to Abu Dhabi yesterday as a team representative at a press conference, said, “We have to understand the situation we are in now, our condition and situation. We have to believe that we have to score runs on the board that your bowlers can fight with. Our bowling department, only if they can score 160-170 runs can they win the team.”
Bangladesh’s batting department is not able to score these 160-170 runs in Abu Dhabi conditions. Especially the way Bangladesh’s two openers ‘disappeared’ in an instant against Sri Lanka, if that happens again today, the farewell bell will surely ring. There are indications of changes in three departments – batting, spin and pace – in the life-or-death match. Afghanistan has won 7 of the 12 meetings between the two teams in 20-over cricket. They will still come out on top today. If the opponent’s strength, experience, field – all are unfavorable, Bangladesh will have to remain steadfast in one place to win; in Mushtaq’s words, ‘belief or faith’.
