Beximco ODI Series 2010
In the past week, the Tigers could have walked away with a lot more than plain old 'improvement'. They could have achieved more than just individual glory. Things could have been momentous for the Tigers. To put it bluntly, Bangladesh could have won the one-day series. But they didn't.
As it happens the Tigers had other predicaments to worry about. Injuries, selection controversies, alleged bust-up between team high-ups and a senior player and poor execution on the field have left them empty-handed. As empty-handed as they were when England last toured here in 2003.
What forces the Tigers to go back seven years then? It was a different team, almost a different era if you consider how fast a Bangladesh playing line-up changes. In fact only Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was the only player from this side who was also in the 2003 one-day series against England.
But the overriding theme for the Tigers in this series was to go one-up on the class of 2003. Realistically, the visitors faced a team in form rather than one that loses often. True that this Tigers side have lost everything in 2010 so far but they have a belief and they have a host of performers rather than just one.
But what counts is the end result which still remains 3-0 in favour of the visitors, who were evidently less stronger this time.
Notwithstanding the quality of the opponents since they have the trophy safely tucked away, we must take a look back.
Firstly, someone should have stuck around with Tamim Iqbal during his majestic yet measured 125. He looked in good touch during the century, carrying his good work from the India series but threw it away in the second one-dayer while the third innings from the left-hander could be overlooked since he was packed off in just three balls. Otherwise his was the best effort from any of the Tigers batsmen.
Tamim's opening partner however had a strange series. Imrul Kayes looked average at best even during his half-century in the second match, losing steam midway. Aftab Ahmed looked like a batsman out of touch with international cricket. Maybe it was a case of adjusting fast but after a couple of one-dayers and he made up his shortfall with a 46 that ended badly in a run-out.
Mahmudullah Riyad had a wonderful time in New Zealand but the one who turned out against England looked like a distant second cousin of the man who blasted the Black Caps only a few weeks back. Maybe it was just a blip.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan always looked dangerous but never made anything of the starts he got. But he got a bad decision in the final game in Chittagong and while that doesn't fix everything, it surely won't hurt him ahead of the Test series. But his bowling never seems to lose its fizz even after he fails with the bat or while captaining the side.
Shakib's captaincy has actually garnered much praise for handling his bowlers quite well but he can do without a few major problems. While batting surely is a headache, Mushfiqur Rahim's wicketkeeping and bowling at the death are worries he can do without.
Both Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain looked easy to hit after the 40th over and during the final Powerplay. In fact Shakib pointed at both bowlers being his main men during the five-over restriction so it was disappointing how Shafiul's bowling imploded in that fateful over against Eoin Morgan.
Mushfiqur's keeping gave the feeling that either he is spending too much time in front of the stumps or it is just fatigue. He hasn't had a break for a long time and the added duty of batting up the order maybe taking its toll.
The first Test starts in Chittagong in six days time and while it is not long enough to fix many of the problems, the hope remains it's a better show than what took place in 2003.
