2nd Match - Bangladesh v Pakistan (16th March)

[Pratters]

@ smalishah: Easier said than done. 9/10 teams wouldn't get 175 when chasing 200+ v Pakistan. Pakistan didn't bowl as well as they can - Aamir bowled a bit short but they are still tough to handle. The real culprit was their bowling.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Nah they didn't bat well at all. But this theory of them doing well at home bilaterals and "freezing" at big events is complete bs. They wouldn't have done any better if they were chasing the same total at the Asia Cup at home.

True. I agree with that. And I won't say they did a 'freeze' today. Despite their excellent form at home, they have some weaknesses in their bowling especially sans Rubel and Mustafiz and every now and then it's going to come back to haunt you. Today was one such day.

 

[Pratters]

You are sounding like someone who doesn't follow their cricket all that much.

Bangladesh being excellent at home is old news for us. It's not longer "improvement" because we have seen this for a while.

Now we are waiting for them to translate that at a world stage, while you are now realizing that Bangladesh are excellent at home.

You sound like some one who doesn't follow cricket at all. Did you not see them at WC in 2015 where they did qualify for the quarter ahead of another test team? It was unimaginable for Bangladesh 5 years ago.

 

[Tec15]

I think ***** is meaning the whole team's performance as collective

Well he's wrong. Masrafe bowled and captained badly as usual. The same as his Asia Cup performance, but he wasn't exposed as badly then. Al-Amin was the only bowler who performed much worse then his Asia Cup form. The rest were the same but bowling first in a much better pitch and better overall conditions.

 

[smash84]

so the bangers end up with a NRR of -2.75. Nice

 

[Black_Warrior]

You sound like some one who doesn't follow cricket at all. Did you not see them at WC in 2015 where they did qualify for the quarter ahead of another test team? It was unimaginable for Bangladesh 5 years ago.

Dude that's what I am saying. Bangladesh playing well is not something new. They played well in WC although I would say not as well as they should because they only just won that one game against England. They benefited from that 1 point from the Australia game being washed away, and lost to New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Still, that was a decent performance, although it fell apart at QF.

See from your perspective that is great. We are now saying we expect a bit more from them and want them to perform well at a pressure game such as Asia Cup Final or World T20 stage. You are getting impressed by something now that we were impressed by 4 years ago when they made Asia Cup final in 2012.

 

[Tec15]

If Pakistan pull their usual mentally weak crumbling act against India after this result....

 

[smash84]

Pakistan to pull their usual mentally weak crumbling act against India after this result....

fixed

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Not necessarily. If we go by CW, outside of few people like PEWS, ***** or myself and a few others who follow their cricket and are aware of their home series wins. Otherwise if you look at it, in general people still don't take them very seriously because bilateral home wins generally don't create a lot of noise, especially when it's a 'small' team like Bangladesh.

In order to gain widespread respect and prove themselves, they need a solid performance at a World stage, such as World T20 or Champions Trophy or World Cup. Until then, we will have a lot of people dismissing Bangladesh despite their home wins, because they just don't follow what Bangladesh do at home.

This is true to some extent. Also would like to add that we need to perform at test level outside. This year we will play few tests outside, one at Eden Gardens and two at NZ from the top of my head. NZ tour is absolutely crucial.

At t20s BD has still a long way to go despite the good showing in Asia Cup. For this current team to click at t20s, a lot of factors is involved. There is simply not enough fire power in the batting order.

 

[Pratters]

Dude that's what I am saying. Bangladesh playing well is not something new. They played well in WC although I would say not as well as they should because they only just won that one game against England. They benefited from that 1 point from the Australia game being washed away, and lost to New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Still, that was a decent performance, although it fell apart at QF.

See from your perspective that is great. We are now saying we expect a bit more from them and want them to perform well at a pressure game such as Asia Cup Final or World T20 stage. You are getting impressed by something now that we were impressed by 4 years ago when they made Asia Cup final in 2012.

Taskin is bowling well and I see him as a huge positive. The batsmen bat with better technique. It is not easy to win tests abroad. India lost most of the tests outside Asia till Ganguly took over as captain. Maybe our expectation levels differ.. what I see as terrific improvement and am amazed by, you think as not enough.

 

[cnerd123]

True. I agree with that. And I won't say they did a 'freeze' today. Despite their excellent form at home, they have some weaknesses in their bowling especially sans Rubel and Mustafiz and every now and then it's going to come back to haunt you. Today was one such day.

Yea it's true that they're missing key bowlers and that Shakib has been out of sorts for ages.

However, it's also true that they are normally a lot more disciplined when playing bilateral series at home than they are in global events. Watch their home ODIs and they're always at a good length, the fielders are always tight, the spinners are calm, and Mortaza is a lot more on point with his captaincy and death bowling.

But when it's a global event they start bowling long hops and fulltossess, the spinners bowl flat, the bowling changes and field settings are a bit odd, and in general they just aren't as good as they can be.

Batting wise they're also a lot smarter when playing without the pressure associated with big games, although that wasn't an issue this game.

Something definitely goes wrong in big matches. It might all just be a coincidence, but these big-stage losses are building up and undermining the good work they do during regular bilateral tours.

 

[cnerd123]

This is true to some extent. Also would like to add that we need to perform at test level outside. This year we will play few tests outside, one at Eden Gardens and two at NZ from the top of my head. NZ tour is absolutely crucial.

At t20s BD has still a long way to go despite the good showing in Asia Cup. For this current team to click at t20s, a lot of factors is involved. There is simply not enough fire power in the batting order.

Yea we need to take Sabbir and Soumya's DNA and clone a big hitting batsmen to play at 6 for us.

And maybe he'll end up bowling a cross between medium pace and leg spin. He could become our Afridi.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Well he's wrong. Masrafe bowled and captained badly as usual. The same as his Asia Cup performance, but he wasn't exposed as badly then. Al-Amin was the only bowler who performed much worse then his Asia Cup form. The rest were the same but bowling first in a much better pitch and better overall conditions.

Pretty sure you have not seen Mashrafe's captaincy closely enough previously.

 

[Black_Warrior]

I think Bangladesh just need to play a bit more outside of home, starting with ODIs and T20s. Tests not yet because they can't yet win tests at home. This was as flat a pitch as they would have encountered in a long long time. I felt their inexperience showed as they did not adjust their lines and length early on. Al Amin was too short and the carry and pace of the pitch meant they were easy runs for Sharjeel. At home, the pitches offered a bit more help to their seamers.

Pakistan on the other hand went for runs too, but you could see their experience in how they changed their pace and length. Hardly saw in slowers from Taskin or Al Amin, although Taskin came back to bowl well at the death in the end.

These are things that come with more games and Bangladesh just need to find those bilateral series outside of home consistently. Playing constantly at home for the last few years can spoil you a little bit.

 

[Tec15]

Pretty sure you have not seen Mashrafe's captaincy closely enough previously.

Oh, No I have. He gets plenty of unearned praise for what the rest of the players do, but was exposed badly today. Giving himself an over at Afridi when the spinners where the only ones doing well was a particularly boneheaded move but not the first time he's done it. Just didn't get away with it today.

 

[Black_Warrior]

I must say I am not a big fan of Masrafe as captain. I saw him losing it at the Quarter Final game against India, publicly berating Taskin and his fielders during that game. That's not really my thing. However I have brought this up with a few BD fans who say that it's his style that works for the team and they love him as captain. He is a national hero back home.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Oh, No I have. He gets plenty of unearned praise for what the rest of the players do, but was exposed badly today. Giving himself an over at Afridi when the spinners where the only ones doing well was a particularly boneheaded move but not the first time he's done it. Just didn't get away with it today.

If you are going to criticize Mashrafe as a player, you are welcome but his captaincy is top notch. His bowling rotations are most of the time spot on. His leadership skills are unmatched. Why do you think he's being able to hold his position in the team despite being mediocre as a player now?

 

[cnerd123]

I must say I am not a big fan of Masrafe as captain. I saw him losing it at the Quarter Final game against India, publicly berating Taskin and his fielders during that game. That's not really my thing. However I have brought this up with a few BD fans who say that it's his style that works for the team and they love him as captain. He is a national hero back home.

The quarter final is a fine example of BD losing it under pressure tbh. Mashrafe is usually a pretty good leader, that was uncharacteristic. I remember being surprised by it.

 

[G.I.Joe]

The quarter final is a fine example of BD losing it under pressure tbh. Mashrafe is usually a pretty good leader, that was uncharacteristic. I remember being surprised by it.

BD lost the QF because of a dodgy decision on a Rohit Sharma dismissal, IIRC.

 

[Burgey]

Bangladesh with the shortest boom since Posiedon Metals in the 1970s.