PAK vs BAN | Takeaways - Bangladesh's butter fingers and Fakhar Zaman's failed fireworks

ByAnirudh Suresh, SportsCafe Editor

07/05/2019

Despite not making the semi-final, Pakistan managed to end their World Cup on a high note, beating Bangladesh by 94 runs. Shaheen Afridi once again starred for Pakistan, becoming the youngest ever to take a World Cup five-wicket haul, while Babar Azam and Imam -Ul-Haq set the tone with the bat.

Bangladesh’s fielding - A major cause for concern

After a lacklustre fielding effort against India which saw them drop Rohit Sharma and let him score a century - a knock which eventually ended up knocking Bangladesh out of the world cup, a much-improved display was expected out of Bangaldesh’s fielding coming into this matchup. But unfortunately, the Tigers disappointed big time, and once again, ended up conceding 25-30 extra runs with their ground fielding, and paid a price a lot more than that, due to their catching.

When Mosaddek Hossain dropped a straightforward catch of Babar Azam off the bowling of Mustafizur Rahman in the 26th over, every single Bangladeshi fan would have had flashbacks to their last game against India, where Tamim dropped Rohit. While Rohit’s drop cost the team 95 runs, Babar’s drop cost them 39 runs. However, the agony wasn’t going to end there. In the very next over, Musfhiqur once again dropped Azam, this time off Mosaddek’s bowling. A very tough chance for which you cannot blame the keeper, probably even a tad unlucky, but they say you make your own luck.

To add to drop catches, misfields and overthrows were aplenty - be it in the inner-ring or in the outfield, and Mehidy Hasan’s needless overthrow off his own bowling which gifted Imam four extra runs kind of sums up Bangladesh's efforts on the field. While Bangladesh have immensely matured as a batting unit and just as a team in general, they have a long way to go in the fielding department and the coaches will have their work cut out in that aspect. Fielding is indeed a huge part of modern day cricket, and it’s no surprise that the four best fielding teams have made it to the semis.

Fakhar Zaman’s Fireworks - A thing of the past

With an average over 50 and an ODI double century to his name, Fakhar Zaman was one of the most talked about names ahead of the World Cup. He added to his CV by scoring a match-winning century in the Champions Trophy Final, and big things were expected from the southpaw in the World Cup. However, with a solitary fifty and an average of 23.25, Zaman has instead turned out to be the weakest link in the Pakistani batting line-up, and in a way, has been found out.

With all talk about Pakistan coming all guns blazing thanks to the improbable task they faced ahead of the match, much was expected from the openers and all eyes were on Fakhar to see if he could finally send a strong message in Pakistan’s last match of the World Cup. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be. A clever move from the old fox Mashrafe Mortaza saw Mehidy Hasan opening the bowling, and in the process, unsettling Zaman from ball one. Zaman tried to break the shackles but was unsuccessful every single time. He was finally put out of his misery by Saifuddin, as he hit one straight to Mehidy at point.

Throughout the course of the tournament, each team has exposed different flaws in Zaman’s game, and the opener's stubbornness to adapt to situations has led to his own downfall. At times, Zaman’s greatest strength - pouncing on width - has also turned out to be his biggest weakness, as seen in the game against Australia. With his partner in crime Imam-Ul-Haq scoring a century, the spotlight will be on Zaman, and maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Pakistan to start looking for alternatives and let Zaman earn his place back in the team.

Bangladeshi openers’ nightmare comes to an end

Coming into the 2019 World Cup, in 51 innings post the 2015 World Cup, Tamim Iqbal had scored 2511 runs at an average of 57, which included seven hundreds. Similarly, his partner in crime Souwmya Sarkar had blasted three fifties in the build-up to the World Cup. This destructive opening pair of Bangladesh was expected to set the World Cup alight, while also giving their experienced middle order a platform to launch. Sadly enough, the duo have failed to deliver and how!

In seven innings together, the duo have averaged just 36.14, with just two fifty partnerships. Individually, they have done much worse, with Tamim averaging 29.37 in the tournament, and Sarkar - a modest 20.75. With one and three World Cups under their belts respectively, Sarkar and Tamim were expected to sail the Bangladeshi ship towards the shore, but instead, have turned out to be the main reason for the ship sinking. Bangladesh tried opening with Tamim and Litton Das in their game against Afghanistan, but whether that was a tactical move or a move prompted by Sarkar’s failure is something we would never know.

Once again, with their side chasing a 300+ total, the onus was on Tamim and Sarkar to get their team off to a respectable start, but within the first powerplay, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim found themselves cleaning the mess made by the openers. This makes one wonder - what would have happened to the Bangaldeshi batting had Shakib not had the kind of World Cup he had? Well, that’s over to the coach and the selectors to ponder over, and it is never a pleasing feeling to lose two (too) early.