'Batsmen may have misread the pitch'

From the moment Arafat Sunny fired one of his loopy turners against AB de Villiers in the first over there were chants of ooh and ah in the press box. The ball had kept low and even turned a bit.

These were early indications that the Mirpur pitch yesterday was going to be one of those typical slow and low wickets; almost the kind that Bangladesh's players witness in domestic tournaments.

The team management's strategy seemed to be working when Bangladesh's spinners sent both de Villiers and Quinton de Kock back to the pavilion early. However, the bowlers had to deal with a resolute Faf du Plessis who seemed to have the calmest hands on the field. When they were under pressure, du Plessis merely tapped the ball around for ones and twos.

Whenever the deliveries were short or over pitched, they were hammered towards the boundary ropes. He even read Mustafizur Rahman's cutters, a task not many batsmen have been too successful at, as he patiently guided him towards the third-man region.

Du Plessis had scored a brilliant half-century, however, it hadn't exactly ensured a win for the visitors halfway through. One wouldn't always bet on a target of 149 in a T20 game.

However, that notion changed after Bangladesh's batsmen arrived in the second innings.

The previous limited-overs matches saw Bangladesh's batsmen bank on aggressive starts. Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar were ruthless in the last few limited-overs matches that were played on sporting wickets.

However, the wicket yesterday was different, but unfortunately for Bangladesh's fans, the hosts' batting approach wasn't.

The likes of Tamim, Soumya and Mushfiqur Rahim were all sent back to the pavilion after they attempted wild hits, which, considering the circumstances of the game, weren't necessary. It also built pressure on the middle order.

After the match, skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza admitted that the batsmen might have misread the pitch.

"It might have been the case. They were playing on true wickets for a long time. So coming from there to here… the adjustment issue might have been a reason.

But I think that we have played on this kind of wicket for a long time.

"It should have been more difficult for them [South Africa]. But their batsmen saw the innings out. No matter what kind of a wicket it is, we have to adjust and play," said Mashrafe.

"They have been successful in the past by playing positive cricket. So maybe they wanted to hit the lose balls. That's why not many wanted to change their style of play. I hope we can learn from here and read the situation much better the next time," he added.

When asked if the players were under pressure of maintaining their good run, Mashrafe replied saying that that aspect might have had an effect.

"There's always pressure when you play against a team like South Africa. But what is more important is to see how the players take it. If we don't believe in ourselves, the pressure's going to increase and we won't be able to come out of it.

"The game was in our hands. Had we been a bit more concerned in the match, things wouldn't have been so difficult," reckoned Mashrafe.