Does a one-sided world cup take pressure off Bangladesh?
Can Bangladesh come out and find themselves somewhere close to the semi final spots?
With the first round of matches done and dusted, this world cup is turning out to be something cricket fans were scared of – a procession of one-sided games. It's definitely too early to make statements such as these, yet four of the favourites in this world cup have already faced each other (New Zealand versus England and India versus Australia), and the matches were settled well ahead of time.
What does this do to Bangladesh's chances? The Tigers played Afghanistan first up and keeping up with the theme, we had a comfortable win in a one-sided match. The next part of the journey will not be so straightforward, however, with England and New Zealand coming up back to back. Bangladesh will be hoping these games aren't one-sided because, realistically, the most likely way for Bangladesh to win either of these games is by taking them deep, staying in the contest for as long as possible, and getting the job done in the crucial moments.
New Zealand will face Bangladesh in the hot, southern city of Chennai. If India's victory against Australia in the same venue is anything to go by, Chennai will not be a batting paradise by any stretch of the imagination. Spin will be the key to turning this game into a win for Bangladesh, and either Nasum Ahmed or Mahedi Hasan will be likely to feature.
So how will Bangladesh beat England, the juggernauts of world cricket, or New Zealand, the team that beat the juggernauts? Well, the signs have been encouraging. Bangladesh get a second game in Dharamsala against England, and their match against Afghanistan in the same stadium showed that powerful batting isn't easy on that track. High-scoring, squash-buckling teams like England might just struggle to execute their primary approach. The sand based outfield, which poses significant injury risk to both teams, will cause difficulties for fast bowlers as their rhythm is impeded. Taskin Ahmed's run up to the crease looked laboured in the last game as his feet sank into the ground, kicking up sand as he ran in. Assuming the English bowlers and fielders face similar difficulties, Bangladeshi batters will have a bit of a chance to finally get in a convincing performance. Even though these teams have two wins each in head to head clashes in world cups, England are still, by far, the favourites to come out of this game with a victory. But lending credence to pre-tournament assumptions, the world cup in India will result in some variables being in favour of Bangladesh when facing teams from outside Asia.
New Zealand will face Bangladesh in the hot, southern city of Chennai. If India's victory against Australia in the same venue is anything to go by, Chennai will not be a batting paradise by any stretch of the imagination. Spin will be the key to turning this game into a win for Bangladesh, and either Nasum Ahmed or Mahedi Hasan will be likely to feature. This is not to suggest that New Zealand can't play spin, because a second string Kiwi side did come and beat a second string Bangladesh side at home just before the world cup, and many of their players spent a couple of months playing the Indian Premier League on various spin friendly pitches in India earlier this year. The Kiwis will probably have Kane Williamson back for this game, which can't be good news for any opposition, but as long as Bangladesh execute their plans and get the best out of their skills on a Chennai track that is likely to be favourable, this should be a close match where Bangladesh have a chance. Any and all run out opportunities need to be taken, lest the ghosts of 2019 be resurrected.
In terms of pressure, Bangladesh have put themselves in a good situation by beating Afghanistan convincingly in the first one. After England's horrible start, the pressure will be on the defending world champions to produce the goods against Bangladesh, and in similar situations in the past, Bangladesh have thrived against this opposition (memories of 2015 spring to mind). New Zealand, on the other hand, have been serial overachievers in world cups, so much so that everyone is almost expecting them to perform like one of the big teams this time. Losses against these teams won't trigger alarms even among the easily alarmed fanbase of the Bangladesh team, but the odd win will truly throw the cat among the pigeons in this world cup. In the ensuing chaos, can Bangladesh come out and find themselves somewhere close to the semi final spots? Well, one can hope.
Azmin Azran is the editor of Campus and Rising Stars at The Daily Star.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
Follow The Daily Star Opinion on Facebook for the latest opinions, commentaries and analyses by experts and professionals. To contribute your article or letter to The Daily Star Opinion, see our guidelines for submission.