A rare moment, but also one for introspection
Bangladesh stand on the brink of a rare moment going into today's encounter against Zimbabwe in the second and the final T20I of the two-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
The Tigers, who hammered the visitors in the lone Test last month and also won the following three-match ODI series convincingly before taking the lead in the T20I series with a 48-run win on Monday, will have the chance to complete a clean series sweep -- winning all the matches in all three formats in a series.
High-flying Bangladesh are undoubtedly favourites to ensure this feat barring any mishaps today. It would be no surprise to see the Tigers win today. Instead, it would be shocking to see them fail to win given their recent performances against a side ranked 11th in the world in T20I cricket.
However, such a momentous occasion also begs the question: how much does this incredible feat mean? How much of an impact will this feat have in Bangladesh's current context?
Just before the start of the Zimbabwe series, Bangladesh's condition -- in all three formats -- was in tatters. The Tigers had just recorded their sixth consecutive Test defeat after losing to Pakistan in the Rawalpindi Test by an innings and 44 runs after losing the three-match T20I series 2-0 after the final game was washed out.
Those fortunes only changed when the Tigers met Zimbabwe at home. Even through the dramatic change of ODI captaincy -- Mashrafe Bin Mortaza announcing his retirement as ODI captain before the final ODI in Sylhet and Tamim Iqbal being handed the baton soon after -- Bangladesh seemed unfazed and continued to dominate.
The Tigers' sheer dominance in the series can be gauged from the fact that the same team which had flailed miserably with the bat in Pakistan, even on batting-friendly wickets, suddenly began re-writing the record books against a toothless Zimbabwe bowling line-up.
Tamim and Liton notched Bangladesh' highest ODI partnership (292) and highest opening partnership in T20Is (92) in this very series. The records and supremacy are always commendable as they always provide the players with confidence, something that the Tigers have long been missing.
It is true that the Tigers have been served a much-needed mental boost through this Zimbabwe series, but it can still be argued if such a boost can act as a false assurance of form for players.
Even Soumya Sarkar, who had smashed a brilliant unbeaten fifty in the first T20I, admitted that the quality of bowling was not the same they would be up against in Pakistan when they visit the country for the third phase of their tour to play a lone ODI and their second World Test Championship fixture next month.
Tamim went to play the second-phase of the Pakistan tour on the back of a brilliant unbeaten 300 in the domestic circuit, but the southpaw failed when he faced the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah in the Rawalpindi Test.
Even mathematically, the clean series sweep against Zimbabwe would not count for much.
The innings and 106-run victory against Zimbabwe in the lone Test will not be added to the Test Championship, a competition where Bangladesh are yet to register a single point. Meanwhile if the Tigers are even able to play out a draw in their second World Test Championship against Pakistan next month, they would get 20 points. A win would account for 60 points from the allocated 120 points for each Test series according to ICC. And if Bangladesh do get a win today, their rating in T20Is would be increased by just one point, from 226 to 227, without any change in their position.
However, regardless of the calculations and opposition's team strength, any series win provides the team with confidence. The wise thing for the Tigers would be to carry all these achievements and such brilliant performances when they face challenges from higher-ranked sides in the future.
Comments