Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

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Kriterion_BD
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Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by Kriterion_BD »

Bangladesh will be playing their first WTC series, after an embarassing loss at home against Afghanistan. India have a perfect WTC record with 5 wins from 5 games and maximum points so far. The 2nd game in Kolkata will be the first day-night Test in the WTC as well as the first one for either side.

This series (Bangladesh's first tour of India) provides Bangladesh with many opportunities. Firstly, Bangladesh must assume that they will not be gaining any points on the table from this match. It would be an immense feat just to draw one of the Tests. Thus, Bangladesh's goal must be to put in a better showing than they did vs Afghanistan, where they lost by more than 200 runs. Realistically the best that most teams can expect when they tour India is to push the game to the 5th day. This should be Bangladesh's only objective team-wise, given how strong India are at the moment.

Individually, the absence of Tamim and Shakib, should be viewed as opportunities for other players. Others should feel honored to have the opportunity to score the runs and take the wickets that that pair would have gotten.

Apart from those two big names being missing, the squad is actually a fairly reasonable squad.

Shadman Islam (Age 24, Test caps 4, batting average 33.42, 1x50)

The best opening prospect since Tamim Iqbal, Shadman has impressed although he hasn’t really pressed on. He needs to either score a hundred or hit a few fifties in order to exceed expectations. Had a pair of half centuries in the recent A team tour of Sri Lanka, finishing as Bangladesh A’s second best batsman.

Imrul Kayes (Age 32, Test caps 37, batting average 25.37, 3x100, 4x50)
Experience counts for something and Imrul is sure to play with Tamim out. With the emergence of Shadman, he is very much now a backup, and his numbers would justify that tag. His biggest attribute is that he is one of the very few Bangladeshi batsmen who nearly always plays as well as his talent will allow.

Mominul Haque (Age 28, Test caps 36, batting average 41.47, 8x100, 13x50)
Was named captain of the Test side rather unexpectedly and it will the biggest test of his career so far. He has not been a young player for quite some time now, and must elevate his batting to the next level if he is to cement his place as Bangladesh’s greatest ever Test batsman. In 14 away Tests, he averages just 23 with a top score of 77, and India is now one of the toughest places for visiting batsmen to score runs. Although he scored a hundred vs Sri Lanka A recently, his most recent first class form is worrisome.

Mushfiqur Rahim (Age 32, Test caps 67, batting average 34.73, 6x100, 19x50)
Mushy has reportedly [finally] given up wicket-keeping duties in order to focus on being a specialist batsman, meaning he is sure to bat in the top 5. He is Bangladesh’s most technically advanced batter, and is the glue that holds the lineup together. He hit a magnificent 127 in the only previous Test match in India and should be confident of succeeding this time around as well.

Mahmudullah (Age 33, Test caps 46, batting average 32.54, 4x100, 16x50)
Riyad has somehow managed to find great form in red-ball cricket in the past year, hitting 3 of his 4 Test centuries in that period. His most recent form however is not good, and India’s multi-pronged attack will pose the greatest challenge of his career. As a senior batsman, he must contribute if Bangladesh are to compete.

Mosaddek Hossain (Age 23, Test caps 3, batting average 41.00, 1x50)

Although he debuted in 2017, Mosaddek has only played 3 Test in 3 years due to a multitude of reasons. He’s missed 11 Tests out of 12 in that time, and may very well miss the first Test in Indore, due to a family emergency. Possessing the highest first-class average of any Bangladesh batsman (57.35 from 39 games), he continues to see selection be hampered by a unique combination of bad luck, and foolish exclusion by the selection panel. His strong play of spin was on display as he was one of the few Bangladesh batsmen who looked at ease against Afghanistan’s array of spinners, and that will be missed in the first India Test.

Liton Das (Age 25, Test caps 16, batting average 23.71, 4x50)
Liton continues to be a confusing player. He often looks spectacular, only to look clueless the very next delivery. His wicket-keeping is miles better than Mushfiqur’s and his close-in catching is the best that Bangladesh has seen in their short Test history.

Mohammad Mithun (Age 28, Test caps, batting average 21.22, 1x50)
I don’t see the point of wasting opportunities on a player pushing close to 30, who has such poor averages, and such obvious limitation to his batting. He averages less than 35 in first-class cricket, whereas even Liton Das (also probably not good enough for this level) averages nearly 50.

Saif Hassan (Age 21, Uncapped)
A maiden call up for Saif comes during perhaps the toughest tour there is in Test cricket currently. A first-class average of 45.81 sees the tall right hander getting picked. Although I don’t know much about him, I would much rather see him than Mithun, who is a limited player who continues to make every squad for reasons known only to the selectors.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Age 22, Test caps 20, bat avg 18.03, 2x50, bwl avg 32.04, 7x5w, 2x10w)

Miraz’s development at the international level to date hasn’t quite matched his stature at the Under-19 level. At the junior level he was a genuine all-rounder batting at #5. At Test level, he is a bowler who can bat a bit. If he can improve his batting another notch, he may begin to be a reasonable like-for-like replacement for Shakib al Hasan. As of now, he’s a world class bowler on the turning pitches at home, but has yet to replicate that kind of form in away matches.

Nayeem Hasan (Age 18, Test caps 3, bowling average 23.70, 1x5w)

The youngest member of the BD squad in several years, Nayeem is a tall off spinner who has so far been the biggest turner of the ball amongst all the Bangladesh spinners. His batting too has potential, and I believe he’s already a superior bowler than Miraz. Nayeem remains one of the more exciting players for the Tigers.

Mustafizur Rahman (Age 24, Test caps 13, bowling average 35.17)
So profound has been Bangladesh’s struggle to develop fast bowlers, that the Fizz’s 13 caps makes him the most experienced of Bangladesh’s seam bowlers. His red ball skills mostly involve use of cutters on a wearing pitch and reverse swing, both of which indicate he will be more useful in Asian conditions than abroad. However, continuous fitness troubles often relegate Mustafiz to the bench.

Al-Amin Hossain (Age 29, Test caps 6, bowling average 76.66)
A bit of a random inclusion after a few years out of the national side, Al-Amin is more of a limited overs bowler. One gets the feeling that there are surely better Test bowlers than him in Bangladesh, so why exactly has he been selected, especially so suddenly?

Abu Jayed (Age 26, Test caps 5, bowling average 39.36)
Despite only playing 5 games, Jayed has already become the leader of the Bangladesh seam attack. He is arguably the greatest ever swing bowler that BD has produced, and usually operates at 128-130 kph. Facing Indian bowlers in India will be the toughest exam of his young career so far.

Ebadat Hossain (Age 25, Test caps 2, bowling average 191.00)
Bowled well with the new ball in his debut series in New Zealand, and displayed a bit of pace as well. Needs to work on his fitness and accuracy over long spells, as does any other Bangladeshi quick bowler.

Taijul Islam (Age 27, Test caps 25, bowling average 31.19, 7x5w, 1x10w)
The third Bangladeshi bowler to 100 Test wickets (all of them SLAs), Taijul has a knack for picking wickets by the bunch. By some distance the most experienced bowler in the squad, Taijul will be expected to bowl with control and discipline.
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Kriterion_BD
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Re: Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by Kriterion_BD »

Bangladesh bowled out for 150. Just one decent partnership, the one between Mominul and Mushfiqur. Indians are an excellent fielding side and dropped 5-6 catches in the innings. The Indian bowlers really looked lethal out there.

Interesting and shocking stat: Bangladesh has only managed 8 fiver-fers by fast bowlers in their entire history, half of them by Shahadat Hossain. The most recent one was Robiul Islam's twin five-fers against Zimbabwe in 2013.
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Re: Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by jaybro »

This match will be over sometime during Day 3 I reckon
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Kriterion_BD
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Re: Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by Kriterion_BD »

Disappointing to not put up as much of a fight as South Africa. Granted, people forget that SA nearly drew the first Test had they just batted a teency bit better.
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Kriterion_BD
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Re: Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by Kriterion_BD »

BD seamers have kept things fairly tight (SLA Taijul leaking the runs so far). Jayed hasn't gotten much movement but has created two genuine edges - first caught behind by the WK, second one dropped by Imrul at slip (regulation chance really). Ebadat has not created any chances, but kept his end tight, possibly allowing Jayed to induce some false shots. Bowlers need to work in partnership if they are to have any chance of keeping India to under 400.
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Kriterion_BD
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Re: Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by Kriterion_BD »

Kohli lbw for a duck. Great review by Momin!!!
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sam_ahm
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Re: Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by sam_ahm »

Not at all impressed by Bangla boys, I understand it's not easy without Tamim and Shakib, may be even Saifuddin is missed but even then this is beyond mediocre. Should have shown some fight at least.

I was a little impressed by Abu Jayed though, looks a good prospect and should be playing ODIs as well.

Kriterion_BD
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Re: Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by Kriterion_BD »

The current Bangladesh Test team cannot do anything outside of Bangladesh, and to be more specific outside of Mirpur. Many of the problems facing Bangladesh are chronic, systemic issues that even if fixed would take some time (weeks or months to years) to begin bearing fruit. These long term plans include some of the following (many of these I'm sure I've mentioned before):

1) Decentralization of cricket from Dhaka. The Dhaka Premier League clubs and their top admins have way too much power and do not wield it for the betterment of cricket. Many of the BCB directors are also Dhaka club stakeholders and hence conflicts of interest arise, to the detriment of the national team. Secondarily, cricketing infrastructure is thoroughly lacking outside the capital city. Most of the cricketing talent comes from the surrounding areas and not from the two main metropolises of Dhaka or Chittagong. Yet, cricketing centers like Khulna, Sylhet, or Rajshahi probably have less infrastructure than Harare.

2) Emphasis on longer version cricket. The BCB does have a 3-day school tournament, but more needs to be done with the U-19 team playing more Youth Tests. Equally important is getting the A team adequate fixtures. The past 4-5 years the A team has probably only played 1 series of first class matches per year. If we can't arrange A team tours to India, Australia, or England, we should arrange tours to New Zealand, Zimbabwe, West Indies, Ireland, and Afghanistan. This is important to keep Test specialists in match fitness during the long breaks that Bangladesh goes through from the Test program.

3) Development of fast bowlers and leg spinners. These are both necessities in the modern game, and the BCB needs to hold talent hunts in all 64 districts of the country. Many of these kids cannot afford to travel to or stay in Dhaka, and that is where all the infrastructure is (as mentioned above).

4) Not an issue that BCB can do anything about directly, but the BD players have to be serious professionals who want to excel at their craft. This is a cultural phenomenon and as such not something BCB has control over.

Now on the the short term, immediate problems.

There are 4 main departments of the game: batting, fast bowling, spin bowling, and fielding. Bangladesh is lacking in all 4 areas, some more than others. In the short term, having a full strength side and also making proper selections is the best way to remedy this.

1) Batting - The batting department has been very poor in the last several years due to playing result oriented wickets at home, in addition to not being able to score runs overseas. My first suggestion would be to ignore for selection any batsman that doesn't have at least a 40-45 average in first class cricket. Exceptions to that may be made for very young players (22 or less) who are deemed to be highly talented. But if you are picking a 27 or 28 year old, it makes little sense if that guy has a first class average of 35 or even less in some cases.

2) fast bowling - There isn't anything the team management can do expect to identify the best quicks in the country and try to get them prepared for the realities of Test cricket. If the guys can't pick up wickets or beat the bat regularly, they need to at least focus on bowling with control and not giving up easy runs. Ebadat did an admirable job of this in the Indore Test, which allowed Jayed to pick up wickets at the other end.

3) Spin bowling - Taijul and Miraz may be solid bowlers at home on turning pitches, but overseas and/or against strong sides like India, they are really mediocre bowlers. They too should focus on cutting the boundary balls and keeping things tight. This is probably the strongest of Bangladesh's 4 departments, but still average or less at best.

4) Fielding - Bangladesh's fielding is perhaps the worst in the world with the possible exception of Afghanistan. I would estimate that our slip cordon drops 75% of regulation catches, and even the other 25% are usually juggled before they stick. A top fielding side like New Zealand by contrast will catch 85% of regulation catches. So what this means, is that our bowlers will have to create 3 or 4 times as many chances just to get the same number of catches. Our bat pad fielding is somewhat better, but still far worse than what it could or should be, given our spin based attack. General ground fielding is decent, but again could be significantly better.

My XI for the Kolkata day-night Test would be as follows:

1) Shadman
2) Saif Hassan
3) Mushfiqur
4) Mominul
5) Mosaddek
6) Mahmudullah
7) Liton
8) Miraz/Nayeem
9) Abu Jayed
10) Ebadat
11) Mustafiz

Saif comes in for Imrul, I'd push Mominul down to #4 which is where he's had most of his success early in his career. Mosaddek missed the first Test due to a family emergency and should be back for the 2nd match I hope. Miraz scored some useful runs in the 2nd innings, so perhaps he might be required, although Nayeem is almost certainly the better off spinner.

Going forward to the Pakistan tour in January, we could try the following XI:

1) Shadman
2) Tamim
3) Saif
4) Mominul
5) Mushfiq
6) Mosaddek
7) Nurul
8) Miraz /Taijul
9) Nayeem
10) Abu Jayed
11) Ebadat
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Kriterion_BD
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Re: Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by Kriterion_BD »

Day night Test to begin in about an hour. It is not often that Bangladesh goes into a match, and I don't believe Bangladesh can compete if they play up to their potential. However, this Indian team is something else and BD are in total dissarray. I can't see any situation in which we can compete as we are thoroughly out-matched in every single department. The current squad has just 2 batsmen of Test quality, and just 1 bowler who seems to fit that description. That means 8 out of the 11 players is either a passenger or a young player yet to prove himself. You can't take on India in India with a squad like that.
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Kriterion_BD
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Re: Bangladesh in India 2019: Test series

Post by Kriterion_BD »

Just tuned in...HUGE crowd at Eden Gardens. Just a reminder that even a half full Eden probably has 40-50,000 spectators. About 5000 are fans traveling from Bangladesh. Maybe pink ball is the way to go for the subcontinent.
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