Tigers’ approach and attitude need a refining
Fingers are being pointed towards the two dropped catches by Liton Das and Mahmudullah Riyad's captaincy as prime causes for Bangladesh's five-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in their first Super 12 clash in Sharjah on Sunday. Experts, fans, media and critics are spot on in pointing out these factors playing major roles in the defeat, but were those the only reasons? Was not the lack of killer-instinct responsible for the defeat as well?
Dissecting the game as it was played by the Tigers, the aforementioned two reasons will vividly come to the fore. Those are when Liton dropped Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Charith Asalanka -- the destroyer in chief -- at crucial junctures of the game and Mahmudullah opting for having three overs bowled by part-timers, two by himself and one by Afif Hossain, despite having the option of completing the 20 overs with just the regular bowlers.
But aside from the cricketing factors, the attitude of the players, especially of skipper Mahmudullah, was probably one of the causes for the Tigers' downfall.
Bangladesh were well and truly back in the game after Shakib Al Hasan removed Pathum Nissanka, ending an ominous 69-run stand, and Avishka Fernando in the ninth over with Mohammad Saifuddin following it up with the wicket of Wanindu Hasaranga in the very next over.
But what went wrong from there on? Asking this is not only imperative but finding and taking the answer on the chin-up is also vital for a professional side that saw a crucial game slip out of their hands.
Liton did drop two catches and Mahmudullah's decision backfired in the form of Sri Lanka plundering 36 runs in those three overs by the part-timers, but the game was still far from over.
However, from the body language of the Tigers, it seemed that their morale was so shattered that they just gave in to the flow of the game even before it was over. The shock of losing the momentum seemed to have stunned the Tigers so badly that they probably failed to get a hold of themselves in the latter part of the game.
If we compare it with the other game of the day, the match between India and Pakistan which is arguably the most anticipated and hyped contest ever in cricket, we might be able to see a stark contrast. With Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam playing flawlessly and Pakistan firmly in the driving seat needing just a run-a-ball at the end of the 16th over, India skipper Virat Kohli still seemed animated, talking with teammates and contemplating a way to still turn the game around.
Kohli, however, failed in his pursuit and accepted his fate gracefully -- regardless of how tough it might have been to accept that his side were the only one to be ever defeated by Pakistan in a World Cup encounter and that too by a thumping margin of 10 wickets.
There was also a contrast in the way Kohli and Mushfiqur fielded questions in the post-match press conferences. While Kohli playfully made a journalist realise that Rohit Sharma is a crucial part of India's T20 plan by throwing a question back and asking if the reporter would consider dropping a player of Rohit's calibre from the format, Mushfiqur had suggested the naysayers 'to take a look in the mirror' and mentioned he felt like 'he hasn't scored runs for many years' before his unbeaten 57 on Sunday.
Let this be reminded that this is not an attempt to throw blame or instil grains of doubt inside the players' minds who are out there representing Bangladesh in the greatest stage of all, albeit in the shortest format of the game, the T20 World Cup.
What the Tigers did on Sunday was laudable, at least some aspects of their cricket definitely were.
But it is probably their attitude that needs some refining both on and off the field if the Tigers are to fulfil their dream of making it to their maiden semifinal of the marquee event.
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