Reverse Swing

Reverse Swing

The atmosphere was exhilarating. The stands were packed with Bangladeshi fans. Some of them had painted their faces with their country's flag and some had full body paints like a tiger.
But sadly the result was not as acceptable as they would have liked. It cruelly became a one-sided contest and the basic difference was the body language and fielding. The West Indies had the will to win as they had lost the first match, so tamely against India. They knew that if they put up their best Bangladesh will be an easy picking for them. It turned out to be like that.
I am surprised to see Tamim Iqbal not celebrating a fantastic catch he took off Dwayne Bravo. It was a superb catch and he should have shown his emotions. This could be a very small thing but with the crowd so vibrant and noisy, a good jig, a good run around the field to celebrate would have spurred on the other players. Instead Tamim showed no emotions as if he was angry with something. Tamim also had Chris Gayle caught wonderfully at the boundary but other than those two catches Bangladesh were awful in the field. In contrast, the West Indies held their catches very well.
I was also surprised why Mushfiqur Rahim did not attack from the word go. He held his spinners back, especially Shakib Al Hasan until the 13th over. In the end Shakib was given just three overs and Shohag Gazi, who was expensive, bowled his full quota. I think Mushfiqur should have attacked with the spinners because you simply cannot contain the West Indian batsmen.
To Bangladesh's luck Gayle was once again not in his elements, not at his best. I suspect Gayle is not hundred per cent fit because he was struggling with his foot movement. He made 48 off 48 balls, which is not his style. He took 20 balls for his first 16 runs, then hit his first six off the 18th ball. That was Bangladesh's luck. It was left to Dwayne Smith to score bulk of the runs and had Mushfiqur brought his spinners before than he did he would have got Smith much earlier.
I was impressed the way young Al-Amin Hossain bowled. He is lithe and if he works on his body he could improve his bowling and would be more speedy. He has a wise head on his shoulders and bowled with variety. It was heartening to see a young bowler taking the challenge to the more established players.
When Bangladesh batted they were rocked by the little known Krishmar Santokie. He was impressive as he bowls round arm and can bowl the slower one with the same action. He bowled Shakib first ball and it was pin drop silence in the stadium. Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine were also tough to tackle.
Sad to see the Tigers losing like this in their own den. This big defeat will hurt them in net run-rate but before reaching that point they have to win all their remaining matches. For the rest of the tournament they will have to lift their body language and spirit.

The writer is a former Pakistan cricket captain and one of the finest swing bowlers and currently a TV commentator and presenter

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