The Mashrafe effect

It's a funny game this. Until Tuesday, all that was spoken of was how the Tigers needed to gain mental strength after losing four consecutive warm-up matches in Australia.

Following their win yesterday though, social media was filled with posts highlighting Bangladesh's sixth consecutive ODI win and how this was in fact their second longest winning streak.

A quick shift in emotions in this nation's cricketing arena is nothing new. But what it does go on to reiterate is how important yesterday's win was for the Tigers. And by the looks of things, there was one player in the team that wanted this victory more than anybody else.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was a livewire at the Manuka Oval yesterday. There were moments in the game when the ecstatic Bangladeshi expatriates took a break from their relentless cheering to observe their animated captain.

With the ball he bowled an immaculate line and put the batsmen under pressure right from the get-go. On the field he was busy guiding his younger pacers and frantically gesturing at his fielders. Taskin Ahmed was talked to for bowling that rare wide delivery, while Rubel Hossain received a chest thump after the second wicket; Mashrafe was everywhere.

After losing three wickets the Afghans had begun stitching a partnership that, although didn't look threatening, made the captain restless. The bowling changes came at the rate of knots, a below-par effort on the field was not just frowned upon but shouted at Mashrafe-style. He didn't want to lose control of the game for even a second.

And the effect was quite visible. The fielders at the boundary, which by the way was at quite a distance, ensured that the batsmen worked hard for their singles. The brilliant throw from Sabbir Rahman and Rubel Hossain's 'back-dive' to hold on to a stunner depicted visuals that Bangladesh's fans haven't witnessed for a while.

These were the exact features that were missing from the Bangladesh side a year ago when they were making an attempt to break free from a glut of defeats. No matter how good a position they got into, the players barely looked like they wanted to win.

Against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, after Arafat Sunny and co took five wickets, the attitude was such that they had already won the game. Similar scenarios were witnessed against Sri Lanka and the West Indies when Bangladesh lost matches they had a firm grasp on.

But yesterday was going to be different. Despite the four consecutive warm-up defeats and the pressure generated following the loss to Ireland, Mashrafe was not going to allow the team to get bogged down. At least that's what his body language suggested and that's exactly what Bangladesh needs more of.