Bangladesh had Afghanistan at 35-4 and then 71-5 in the first ODI at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.聽
But they managed to rescue themselves out and put something on the board for the bowlers to fight with thanks to the valiant efforts from the captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and veteran Mohammad Nabi.
Bangladesh then were 120-2 at the start of the 26th over. They were cruising along, chasing 235. At least that was thought to be the case through the midway of the second innings.聽
Then Bangladesh nosedived to 143 all out in 34.3 overs. The match seemed to be in Bangladesh鈥檚 pocket. But they still managed to lose it by 92 runs.聽
These two scenarios could sum up the recent pictures of the Bangladesh national men鈥檚 cricket team.聽
On a pitch where Afghan spinners took nine wickets, Bangladesh鈥檚 three spinners failed to claim a single one. Obviously at Sharjah, the spinners typically become more dangerous under the lights when the ball skids on.
But after the pacers created so much pressure, the Bangladesh spin-attack without Shakib Al Hasan couldn鈥檛 penetrate through. They lost opportunities in the field too.聽
Of course, blaming only the bowlers would be a huge injustice to them. When you restrict an opponent under 250 runs and score nearly half of the target in half of the allocated overs, with eight wickets in hand, you should not lose the game.
Yet Bangladesh did so.聽
Unlike the Afghans, Bangladesh had three 25-plus scores from the top four, with two crossing 30. They had the foundation that was missing in the Tests against Pakistan, India, and South Africa.聽
But none of Soumya Sarker, Najmul Hossain Shanto, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz could go big in a wicket where it was never easy for the new batters. They all fell in the trap.聽
With the field setting, Soumya, batting on 33, should鈥檝e known that Azmatullah Omarzai would bowl a bouncer. But that made no difference, as Soumya went for it and miscued it.聽
Mehidy came at four. He had a good record against the Afghans, averaging 59 before the first ODI. An injury to Mushfiqur Rahim, which was revealed later, might have prompted Mehidy鈥檚 promotion too.聽
Either way, Bangladesh were going well when Shanto and Mehidy were batting.聽
It was the 26th over. Before that ball, the fielder from deep square-leg was removed, and an extra-fielder was put in the slip. Shahidi himself went to the short fine leg. It was a clear trap, asking Shanto to sweep.聽
Nabi dragged the ball outside and pitched it on length. Shanto went for the sweep and paid the ultimate price.聽
What happened next was quite spectacular, and one would find it difficult to keep track of how fast the wickets fell.聽
Mehidy went to sweep Allah Ghazanfar and top-edged. Till then, Afghanistan were sloppy at the field and dropped at least three catches. But Omarzai did well.聽
Mahmudullah then failed to read the googly off Rashid Khan, as did Towhid Hridoy. Mushfiq was befuddled by a Ghazanfar delivery that had drift and turn.聽
Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, and Shoriful Islam 鈥� the 18-year-old Ghazanfar was too much to handle for all of them.聽
Bangladesh lost eight wickets for 23 runs. They lost the seven for 11 runs in just 24 deliveries. That is the joint sixth least number of runs from the last six pairs in an ODI.聽
Bangladesh were the favourites twice during the match, but they vanished in the flash of an eye.
The Shanto-led team needed a win badly given the on and off the field situations they were going through. But they managed to stoop to a new low in Sharjah.