Rubel Hossain is known for blowing hot and cold in a career spanning over a decade. Prone to err in the death overs, the right-arm pacer with a slinging action perhaps bowled his best ten overs in the one-day international against India in the Asia Cup final on Friday. His figures of 10-2-26-2 was a demonstration of how well he bowled in Dubai. He had Ravindra Jadeja caught in the 48th over, which was his last over, to create that window for a late twist in a pulsating final that Bangladesh lost off the last ball of the game.
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Performers, be they on stage, in front of television cameras or on the field of play, sometimes talk about 'love the mess' -- in other words revelling in the scenario when things spin out of control -- in order to survive the chaos. Bangladesh are certainly in a chaotic situation in the UAE in their Asia Cup campaign, and just before today's final against top-ranked India, skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza seemed to have started embracing the bedlam.
"In this tournament we surprised ourselves and you folks as well. There were different players at different times in different positions," Mashrafe laughed as he answered a reporter's question about team composition. "Anyway, it was more to do with being a victim of circumstance. With Shakib [Al Hasan] not there, you might see someone [opening the batting] tomorrow who has never opened. We are prepared for everything and I am also asking you to be prepared."
The Asia Cup has been a trial by fire -- or at any rate intense Middle Eastern heat -- for Bangladesh. They lost opener and highest run-getter Tamim Iqbal with a left-hand fracture after the first match, had to contend with confusion surrounding the group placements and scheduling that seemed to be a product of organisers favouring India, and then the loss of ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
While Mashrafe, always an upbeat person, at times cut a forlorn figure in the middle stages of the tournament when they lost abjectly to Afghanistan and India. But then, on Sunday in the three-run win over Afghanistan, things started improving even as they appeared to become more pear-shaped. Opener Imrul Kayes was flown in to bolster a weak opening partnership, but Mashrafe decided to bat him at number six for the first time in his life, and he scored 72.
On Wednesday, after Shakib was ruled out, Bangladesh still managed to win against Pakistan, having to play with a bowler less. Part-time medium pacer and the other opener flown in, Soumya Sarkar, made up for that handicap with a fine bowling performance and took a wicket, shockingly, with a bouncer.
Roles have been redefined and Mashrafe seemed to be revelling in the madness of it all.
Seen from a wide angle, this topsy turvy state has hardly come out of the blue. Tamim suffered the fracture in the 11th ball of the tournament against Sri Lanka. Even though he came back to the dressing room with his left arm in a sling, Mashrafe urged the opener to go out at number 11 to enable Mushfiqur Rahim to score as many runs as possible. Tamim had the gumption to follow the order and played a ball one-handed, contributing to the 137-run win.
That single bit of courage and flexibility seems to have infected the whole squad throughout a tournament of highs and lows.
"Frankly, when Tamim took the field with a broken hand, to me I had won the Asia Cup right then," Mashrafe said with a smile.
If he can keep embracing the chaos and thinking out of the box, there may actually be more to smile about today.
Jofra Archer and Joe Root took three wickets apiece as Afghanistan slumped to 160 all out in a World Cup warm-up match at the Oval on Monday.
England, fresh from their 12-run defeat by world champions Australia in their previous warm-up fixture, were too strong in the field for rank outsiders Afghanistan in south London.
Fast bowler Archer, in what is tournament hosts England’s last match before they open the World Cup against South Africa at the Oval on Thursday, struck twice with the new ball before ending some late resistance from Mohammad Nabi.
Afghanistan were in danger of being dismissed for under 100 before Nabi, with 44, helped the last two wickets add 68 runs.
Archer dismissed Hazratullah and Rahmat Shah in a brisk new-ball spell.
Meanwhile opener Noor Ali saw scrapped his way to 30 before he played on to Ben Stokes.
Hashmatullah could not get going and that prompted Asghar Afghan to attack the occasional off-spin of Test captain Root.
But, having missed out on a first-ball full toss, Asghar tried to drive Root over the top but found Jason Roy in the deep instead.
Afghanistan lost their next four wickets in a mere seven deliveries, Hashmatullah and Najibullah Zadran carelessly run out, Gulbadin Naib holing out to Moeen Ali and Rashid Khan steering Root to slip for a golden duck.
SCORES IN BRIEF
Afghanistan: 160 all out in 38.4 overs (Nabi 44, Zadran 30; Root 3-22, Archer 3-32)
England: 161 for 1 in 17.9 overs (Roy 89 not out, Bairstow 39, Root 29 not out; Nabi 1-34)
Result: England won by 9 wickets.
With arguably the two most important cricketers in Bangladesh – Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal – ruled out by the time they faced Pakistan in a do-or-die Asia Cup game on Wednesday, Bangladesh drew on wartime philosophy to emerge victorious against the odds.
"[Skipper] Mashrafe [Bin Mortaza] bhai told us one thing and we talked about one thing: when at war, you don't look back," said player-of-the-match Mushfiqur Rahim after the 37-run win over the two-time champions at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. "So if you think 'I am going to war and I will try to play it safe', that won't work.
"Either kill or be killed -- one or the other. So that was a huge inspiration, because when you are at war you don't look at who your captain is, who's there or not there."
Mushfiqur was at the centre of the conflict, rescuing the side from the precarious position of 12 for three after Bangladesh won the toss and lifting them to 239 all out with a magnificent 99, becoming the first Bangladesh batsman to be out one short of a century in international cricket.
Bangladesh's highest run-scorer Tamim had already gone back to Dhaka on September 18 with a left-hand fracture sustained in the tournament's opening game against Sri Lanka. Shakib, meanwhile, was ruled out of the match because of a flare-up of a lingering finger injury picked up in January this year. He was subsequently sent home and will undergo surgery in either Melbourne or New York in the near future.
But the calamitous setbacks only brought out the warriors in the Tigers.
"You have to fight 100 per cent with what you have. So we thought that if we give our 100 per cent without thinking about the result, then, God willing, we will win as the best team. There will come a time when I won't be there -- no one is there forever. The five of us [seniors Mashrafe, Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah Riyad] will not be there at one point but even then you have to go on. So this was the talk and everyone was pumped up from there."
Liton Das has been one of the more maligned junior national cricketers in Bangladesh, because the perception is that he was wasting his considerable talent with the bat. To watch him play a cover drive and to witness that extra fraction of a second that he has to play the ball is to realise that he could grow to be one of the better batsmen produced by the country. However, seeing him throw away countless good starts with bad shots tempered those expectations considerably.
In the just-concluded Asia Cup, he took up the poisoned chalice of being Tamim Iqbal's opening partner -- a position that no one has been able to make his own despite being given enough opportunities. He scored a 42-ball 43 against Afghanistan in their Super Four game on Sunday, but as seemed typical then, he squandered the start with a wild slog sweep.
In Friday's final against India, Liton moved past all of that with a 117-ball 121 and showed why he has been persisted with. He also proved that, when it comes to possible candidates for the position of Tamim's opening partner, he is the first among equals. If he does make the transition, the innings provided a glimpse into how devastating an opening pair of Tamim and Liton could be.
India's pace attack is a formidable one, and the fiery Jasprit Bumrah had been allowed to settle into his rhythm thus far in the tournament. Liton however displayed that quality that is the bedrock of all batsmen for whom aggression is the modus operandi -- he backed himself to go after the opposition's most feared bowler.
Bumrah bowls above 140 kmph, but Liton repeatedly stepped out to him and hammered boundaries. Bumrah ended his third over, after Liton advanced down the wicket and hit the fast bowler off mid on, having conceded 23 runs. That put the pressure on India's spinners who had thus far come on and benefited from the pacers' economy in their opening spells. Liton took care of that, hitting leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for big sixes, choosing his areas carefully.
But there was then the typical moment of madness when, just having completed his 50 off 33 deliveries, he went for a wild slog sweep off Kuldeep Yadav. This time, however, he survived as Chahal dropped the catch at mid on.
But what happened then was what will give fans the most hope. Liton saw skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's chest thump from the dressing room asking him to stay strong, and the youngster responded. He chose to play mostly along the ground, picking areas shrewdly for his boundaries. As wickets started falling at regular intervals at the other end, Liton did not throw it away but actually slowed down to complete his maiden century off 87 balls. He kept batting responsibly before a marginal stumping decision, off a defensive shot, ended arguably the innings of the tournament.
It is early days yet, but if Liton can keep mixing his penchant for dominance with thoughtful batting, it will be an auspicious development for Bangladesh cricket.
It would not be an injustice in any way if the Cricket Gods allow Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to lift the Asia Cup trophy with his firm hands at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium today to bring smiles on the faces of the millions of cricket-crazy people in our country.
However, the question is how realistic that dream is. India will go into the final today tagged as 'overwhelming favourites' after enjoying an unbeaten run in the tournament while the Tigers endured a bumpy ride.
While it is true that Bangladesh have overcome many odds to reach the final, many will say: "It's India man! And don't forget there is no Shakib Al Hasan or Tamim Iqbal."
However, a Midas touch from one man can change all the equations and realistic views.
He has given proof of that many times in his fairytale career and he did it again in this tournament too with a traditionally charismatic approach.
When Bangladesh left the country, they had high hopes of achieving glory. Things took a turn and there was plenty of drama in the opener against Sri Lanka, all of which was eventually overshadowed by Tamim Iqbal's unbelievable courage. However, the man who motivated the left-hander was none other than his inspirational skipper.
Tamim's loss had a huge impact as the two new openers failed to find their feet and two defeats to Afghanistan and India made things difficult for the captain, who was tasked with putting the pieces back together and reigniting their hopes. Then the controversial decision to include openers Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar apparently unsettled the team but hope never faded as that colossal man was at the helm.
He stuck to two young openers despite their failures and the hard-fought victory against Afghanistan in the Super Four promised something good was coming to the team.
Alas! The Cricket Gods threw another monumental challenge at the man as Shakib Al Hasan was ruled out ahead of the do-or-die match against Pakistan.
The rest is history.
Mashrafe's stunning catch to dismiss dangerman Shoaib Malik might be publicised most but the way he charged up his men and marshalled the fielding, apart from a good bowling effort, only provided more proof why this man is special.
So, do not only consider logistics when this inspirational man is around. If anyone deserves this prestigious trophy, it is Mashrafe, even more so at the fag end of his career.
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