Asia Cup Cricket: Two kinds of heat for Tigers

Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, took the blame for his team's poor show at the Asia Cup, but said that there's time to rebuild the team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

A convincing eight-wicket win over Hong Kong in the tournament opener suggested Pakistan were going to be a force. But it was followed by an eight-wicket defeat to India, and then, following a last-over win over Afghanistan in the Super Fours, losses to India and Bangladesh. As a result, Pakistan crashed out of the tournament they have won twice in the past.

"Yes, our performance was very poor. Our batting wasn't good, and we dropped a lot of catches. Our bowling was also patchy, and that's the reason we are out of the tournament," accepted Ahmed, who had a poor run with the bat himself, scoring 68 runs in four innings.

"I still believe we have a lot of talented players in the team. Look at Fakhar Zaman. Though he didn't have a good tournament, we have to back him. Babar Azam too. Imam has, thankfully, done well, but there's also Shadab and Hasan. We have to back them and take them along with us. We have to look at our bench too. We have a pool of players, and by the time the World Cup comes, we'll have a good team," said Ahmed.

"The World Cup is quite some time away, we have other engagements before that. Australia are coming, and then there's New Zealand. So we have to review our performance and see where we are falling short.

"We are losing too many wickets early, and the middle order has had to deal with the new ball, which isn't easy, and hitting quickly in the end isn't easy on these pitches. We'll have to get together and fix these issues."

While Ahmed called the performance 'alarming', he added, "There's no need to press the panic button. Yes, we have made mistakes as a team, and as a captain, I know that I didn't do well. But no need to panic, we need to back the players, look at the positions and see if there are people outside the team who can come in."

Bangladesh opener Zakir Hasan admitted that his side suffered a comprehensive failure in the batting department but did mention the wind playing a part in the Tigers' dismissals on Day 3 of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram on Monday.  

The Tigers dished out another abysmal effort with the bat as they were bundled out for 178 in reply to Sri Lanka's 531-run first-innings total. The hosts started the third day at 55 for the loss of one and lost nine wickets while adding just 123 runs as they were skittled out in the post-Lunch session. 

"We totally failed with the bat. We couldn't bat to our potential or perform our roles. We couldn't play as we were supposed to play," Zakir said after the day's play. 

"We couldn't even execute our first plan. Other plans come later. We couldn't do our basic job. We have to execute our first plan as a batting unit.

"I think the wind played a part in our wickets falling today. Everything else was okay, especially in terms of the wicket. We should have batted much better."

Zakir's knock was the only highlight in Bangladesh's sorry scorecard as the left-handed batter put away eight fours for a 54-run knock -- his fourth fifty in the format – but fell prey to yet another angled in delivery from left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando. Zakir was left bemused at how much the delivery decked in to castle him but his lack of foot movement in trying to negate such deliveries caught the eyes again.

It has been a consistent weakness for Zakir as he was dismissed in similar fashion when he was trapped lbw by Fernando in the first innings of the previous Test in Sylhet. He got stuck in the crease and could do little to fend off a ball which tailed in on the stumps. In the second innings, it was Lahiru Kumara who exposed Zakir's limited foot movement to dismiss him. 

Zakir, however, put the blame on his shot selection. The 26-year-old has scored a century and all of his four fifties in the second innings of those particular matches and would hope to better his knock as the Tigers, owing to Sri Lanka's already 455-run lead, will have to chase down a record total to win the match.   

"I can't speak for others. Maybe a coaching staff can tell you. In my case, I think I should be more careful with my shot selection. I am not giving an excuse. One has to be prepared coming into a Test match. I think we should grow this mentality on our side," he told reporters. 

"All departments have to fire to win a Test match. I think batting is the most important of all. We can't defend a total if we can't put anything on the scoreboard. We need to have a decent score when we want to take 20 wickets. We haven't been able to do it. We are discussing how to get better, but we are somehow failing altogether," he added.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto's bizarre review on Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka has left everyone baffled.  

In the 44th over of the day, Sri Lanka batter Kusal Mendis, batting on 29, rushed down the wicket to play dead bat at a good length delivery bowled by Taijul Islam.

Following the successful defence, an appeal was made by Shanto from first slip. The Tigers skipper had thought that the ball hit Mendis's pad first and asked Taijul whether that was the case. But Taijul failed to give an affirmation and wicket-keeper Liton Das too couldn't ascertain Shanto. The stump mic, however, picked up Shanto saying confidently that it was a case of the ball brushing the pad first before thumping onto the bat. 

Shanto decided to challenge umpire Rod Tucker's decision of not out with a review but was left disappointed when replays showed that the ball clearly hit the middle of Mendis's bat. Third umpire Chris Gaffney did not even need to go for an Ultraedge check as the ball was so far away from the front pad.

The Lankans were 155 for the loss of one at that stage after which Mendis went on to score 93 while building a 114-run stand with Dimuth Karunaratne, who eventually scored 86. 

Bangladesh have always struggled with determining which decisions to challenge when it comes to using the DRS system. With only three reviews allowed per inning for each side, the Tigers are yet to wrap their heads around the DRS. Previous captains have also struggled with using reviews and there have been several such baffling challenges in the recent past.

"We are not really good with reviews. That's very clear. So far, we have been awful. We have to develop a much better method. That's completely under captain and wicketkeeper. Maybe the point fielder. The one we are using isn't working. I think we are probably emotions rather than fact at the moment. It was straight off the middle of the bat, so it is not a great review. I also don't want people to be afraid to take reviews. We just have to find a better method," Bangladesh bowling coach Andre Adams said after the day's play in his take of the bizarre review.

As impressive as he was in Bangladesh's win in the first ODI against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib was largely ineffective in the second of the three-match series in Chattogram yesterday. 

Dew has played a pivotal factor in the assistance that bowlers can extract from the wickets at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and teams bowling in the second innings under lights have found it difficult to disturb the batters and curb runflow in the first two ODIs. Bangladesh bowlers suffered the same hapless fate as the Lankans in the first ODI when the hosts tasted the full effect of dew on the ground after the lights came on which rendered the Tigers' bowling attack toothless after an initial flourish.

Bangladesh posted 286 for seven batting first but failed to defend the total largely due to a 185-run stand between Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka.

The Tigers picked up three wickets inside the Powerplay to have the Lankans three down for 60 after 10 but failed to take a wicket for the next 30 overs as Nissanka and Asalanka bossed proceedings which bridged the visitors to a three-wicket victory that levelled the series after the Tigers clinched the first game. 

Sakib starred with three wickets in the first ODI when Bangladesh bowled during the daytime but returned one wicket for 65 runs from his 10 overs in the second ODI. Ahead of the series decider on Monday which will be a day game, Sakib hoped for a much more even challenge for the bowlers who will not have to tackle the interference from the dew that sets upon the ground during the evening.

"I think the bowlers can give their 100 percent in the day match. It will be even for the bowlers of both teams in terms of the condition of the wicket as well as the outfield (due to the absence of dew). When there is dew, you can't really grip the ball and it slips. It also comes onto the bat very easily. The third ODI being a day game will be a plus point for the bowlers," Sakib said in a video published on Bangladesh Cricket Board's official Facebook page.

"The wicket was comparatively better yesterday [in the second ODI] and there was dew late in the game. The ball was coming onto the bat very easily and that one partnership (between Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka) made the scenario difficult for us. We were hoping for a breakthrough but they batted really well. I think we could've defended it if we got a breakthrough," Sakib added. 

In the series opener, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and batter Mushfiqur Rahim dominated with a 165-run stand under lights as the Tigers chased down 255 to go 1-0 up in the series. Dew played a part in making the chase easier in the latter stages as the bowlers could extract very little from the wicket to disturb the batters.

"We knew that with the new ball, it's quite hard so I just backed my skill and took a little bit of time. Later on, the wicket was very easy because of the dew," Shanto said in the post-match interview on Wednesday.