'Could have won if we got AB out'
There was not much new that skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza could say after the 104-run defeat to South Africa yesterday, except that this time AB de Villiers's brilliance somewhat reduced the culpability of his bowlers, as they gave up 353 for six in the second ODI in Paarl. But otherwise, it spoke to the fragile state of the team that Mashrafe, who does not shy away from facing the harsh truths, had to resort to excuses and what-ifs to soften the blow of an expected yet crushing series loss.
"This was a do-or-die match for us but we were pushed back by Tamim [Iqbal's] dismissal," he said, latching on to the fact that Tamim, who returned to the side after recovering from a thigh muscle tear, would have been given not out had he reviewed a leg-before decision in the eighth over of the chase. Tamim however did benefit earlier when Andile Phehlukwayo failed to get a hand to a skier running back from mid on.
"Every team lacks an AB de Villiers," he said when asked whether Bangladesh lacks a player of AB de Villiers's abilities. "He has played innings like this before, and there have been fewer; on his day he is the best in the world, and today was one of those days. There were a few chances here and there but it wasn't our day. If he was out the match would have been a better one; we could even have won."
He may have been referring to Nasir Hossain at slip not reacting fast enough when a fast arm-ball from Shakib was edged by De Villiers to the fielder's right when the batsman was on two. That was the only chance De Villiers offered, apart from a top-edged hook off Taskin that landed in no-man's land after he reached a hundred.
In the context of the tour, 249 all out is not a terrible result for Bangladesh -- especially given that at one stage they were 163 for two before Imrul got out. "If the total was 320, maybe the batsmen would have thought differently; Imrul and Mushfiqur had gotten set."
But it was the bowling that continued to be pedestrian; away performances like the ones in the 2015 World Cup, when both departments fired, seem a lifetime ago.
"We haven't performed as a group. There were some individual performances. I think if we can perform as a group, it will make a difference," said Mashrafe.
Before Quinton de Kock's dismissal in the third ball of the 18th over of South Africa's innings, Bangladesh had taken their first wicket in 85.5 overs of ODI bowling, during which they conceded 550 runs -- going back three games to the Champions Trophy semifinal, where Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed by skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza in the 14th over in June.
"I think we need a lot of practice but if you talk about today's game, it belonged to AB de Villiers totally," said Mashrafe. "Another batsman wouldn't have been as destructive with a slight mistake in length. Since Champions Trophy, we have to work on a lot of things in these conditions. It has to be worked on during the off-season, not during a series. If we keep avoiding that work, we will have to struggle in these tours."
It was interesting that he mentioned that, because the South Africa tour quickly followed the Australia series back home, and that was preceded by an off season that included a training camp of nearly a month and a half. The next off season for Bangladesh is a long way off, which, going by the captain's words is not a promising sign.
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