Story Bangladesh: From Minnows to Tigers! (End of England tour)

[qpeedore]

6ry4nj - I thought about that but it won't be as realistic for me since I really can never know the quirks of everyone and speak just like them in dialogue.

Pitch report – Day 3

The pitch continues to be good for batting, but the spinners now have some footmarks to exploit. The contest between ball and bat gets closer today, but the bat should still dominate.

Tareq Aziz speaks to the cameras this morning. He says that things are tough for the bowlers, but everything all depends on putting the ball in the right areas. If they can do that then they should get rewards.

Play – Day 3

Things were tough. Despite good fielding and a good control of line and length, the batsmen trusted the bounce enough to put the ball away. The partnership grew and passed 100. So did Matthews. Jayawardene also reached his milestone of 50 before long. They continued to look dangerous all the way to lunch, going in with the score at 258 for 2.

After lunch it was more of the same. Matthews even went over the boundary a couple of times with two sweetly timed sixes. Shakib and Mahmadullah started to bowl in tandem, however, and this kept the batsmen in check until Mahmadullah broke the partnership when he got Matthews to feather one to the keeper. There was not much celebration for the wicket, however. Bangladesh looked out of it but Saleh called his men together into a huddle for a few seconds and got their spirits up once more. They walked back to their fielding positions looking a little more hopeful.

That hope quickly faded as Chandimal started to play his shots. The boundaries flowed once more and as Jayawardene approached his century, the fielding suffered. They let the batsmen get away with singles that should not have been there, and the new batsman Chandimal profited as he got his eye in. He then unleashed his force on the bowling, taking the ball all around the park and bringing up his fifty in good time. At the other end, Jayawardene was more cautious, but he rushed a single to get to a good century on the stroke of tea.

Everything continued after tea, with the Sri Lankans showing Bangladesh no mercy. Chandimal continued to be very aggressive, and together he and Jayawardene took their partnership past 100. Things were hard for Bangladesh as their first innings score looked to not only be reached, but be surpassed by a long way.

Shakib got the wicket of Chandimal for 89, but it was more due to Chandimal being aggressive than good bowling. He miscued a cover drive to be caught about halfway to the boundary. At the other end it was Shahzada who produced an excellent piece of bowling in the next over to get Jayawardene to edge to the single slip fielder. He went for 139.

Samaweera refused to let any bowling, good or bad, affect him. He played all the shots in the book and got Sri Lanka past Bangladesh’s score with 5 wickets still in hand. Play ended with Sri Lanka looking strong and Bangladesh looking flat.

End of Day 3 – Sri Lanka 503/5, Jayawardene 139, Al Hasan 2-84

Talk at the end of today focused on the pitch. Some variable bounce was starting to happen, but really it was still a batsman's paradise. The several high scores proved just that. But a lot of time was still left in the match, and it could still go either way if Bangladesh restricted Sri Lanka to a modest lead.

 

[qpeedore]

Pitch report ? Day 4

The ball gains some ground in the battle today, with the wear on the pitch getting progressively more. This evening will be tough for the batsmen. Once they have their eye in, though, more big scores are to be had, as shown by both teams so far.

Shakib is interviewed this morning. He says that the team has had a long meeting after the close of play yesterday and they are coming out today fresh and ready to restrict the Sri Lankan lead to as little as possible.

Play ? Day 4

The Bangladeshi bowlers started the day with a good display of line and length bowling. They still seemed reluctant to attack too much, though. Instead they were apparently focusing on restricting the scoring and creating chances that way. This allowed Samaweera to reach his fifty in the ninth over of the day without too much fuss.

The quicker bowlers soon gave way to the spinners Shakib and Mahmadullah. But the Sri Lankans are good players of spin and it took a lot of tight overs before the chance for a wicket came. Shakib floated one outside Kapugadera?s off stump that just turned enough to take the edge and go to the slip fielder, who took a fine catch. He fell just two short of his half century, but a job well done nonetheless.

Samaweera kept going along and really only hit the balls he wanted to hit. The bowlers were tight but not threatening and he was able to leave a large number of deliveries, only hitting the bad balls. He entered the nineties and looked set to make another Sri Lankan ton. At the other end, Saman was a little less talented in knowing what to hit and what to leave alone. He tried to cut a ball that was much too close to him and ended up getting a bottom edge to the keeper. He went for 6 but the lead had already crossed 100 by that time.

Kumara only had a few balls to play out until lunch and he did so well enough. Samaweera went in on 97 and no doubt would return after the break to get his century.

He came out and survived a loud shout for a catch behind the wicket off of Mahmadullah when he was on 99. The umpire shook his head and replays confirmed it to be the right decision when they showed the batsman?s bat hitting his front pad and that made the noise the Bangladeshis had heard.

He pushed a single to mid off to reach his century. Amidst the celebrations all eyes went from him to the dressing room. Talk of declaring was in the air, but there was no signal and the two batsmen resumed in the middle.

Bangladesh took the third new ball as soon as it was due. Mahmud bowled the first over with it and managed to get Samaweera to edge one down to the third man boundary. A small victory for the bowler, but not the victory he would have wanted.

Shakib bowled in tandem with him. The hard ball obviously did not spin too much but the skid and bounce he got with it proved to be too much for Kumara, who played with his bat well away from his body. The ball popped up into the air and was caught by the diving silly point fielder for Shakib?s fifth wicket. The fielders all congratulated him but there was still a job to be done.

The declaration came just a few overs later, however, and Bangladesh would have been happy to finally get out of the field.

End of Sri Lanka 1st innings ? 619/8dec, Jayawardene 139, Al Hasan 5-125

The analysis focused on the state of the pitch and also on Shakib?s standout performance among the bowlers. There were a few troublesome spots just on a good length for the batsmen, but otherwise everything was great for batting considering that it was a day 4 pitch.

Tamim and Nafees came out to the middle and they had a short chat before going to their respective ends. It was pointed out up in the commentary box that they needed to clear their minds of everything that happened while they were in the field for so long. Easier said than done, of course, and the weariness showed through as both batsmen found themselves feeling for the ball wide of off stump more than once. Fortunately, they settled down and started to look more comfortable at the crease. They went to tea without losing a single wicket.

After tea, things continued with the batsmen looking solid and settled until Karunatilleke got one to move off the seam. Tamim pushed at it but could only get a thin inside edge that the keeper dived well to take down the leg side. He went for 37 with the score 81 for 1.

Nafees rewarded the selectors for showing faith in him as he got to his fifty. Talk of dropping him would no doubt have to be itself dropped for some time. At the other end, Mahmadullah kept him good company and they went past the deficit with just the single wicket down.

Twenty runs into the lead, Kumara got Nafees with a superb bit of bowling. The first three deliveries of the over he had bowled wide of the off stump, but the fourth one was faster and flatter, directed right at the stumps. Nafees had no answer and he was on his way, LBW for 74.

The final three overs of the day went without much concern for Bangladesh and they went into the pavilion with the lead at 27 runs.

End of Day 4 ? Bangladesh 155/2, Nafees 74, Kumara 1-15

Samaraweera is interviewed. He is happy about his century and says that batting is very good on this pitch. He still has hope that Sri Lanka can win the match if they dismiss Bangladesh early on tomorrow and give them anywhere under 200 to chase in a session and a half or so.

 

[Dutchmen]

This guy is amazing. Al Hasan took 15 wickets in three innings. however Lankans batsmen' played splendidly. Bangladesh however secured there innings to 155 with two. Tamim wasn't tenacious as he is and, Nafees should have carry forward but indeed it was a fascinating innings.

 

[qpeedore]

Pitch report Day 5

Talk of a draw was in the air, but with Bangladesh nobody ever knows and with the pitch at its best for bowling, the match could still be decided today. The batsmen are going to have their work cut out for them, but once again if they settle then they can be there for a long time.

Dolar Mahmud is the man interviewed this morning, with Tamim translating. He smiles as his bowling figures are read out to him. He says that every now and then there are matches like this one, where bowlers struggle. He had special praise for Shakib and his 5 wickets. As to the current state of the match, he says that they are just looking to bat for as long as possible and they would assess how things look as the day progresses.

It only took two overs before Sri Lanka struck, Karunatilleke removing Mahmadullah by getting him to edge one to the keeper for 37. Shakib came out and played all his shots right at the start, racing to 49 off of just 59 deliveries. It was his 60th ball that got him, though. Mendis saw him advancing up the pitch and darted the ball into his pads. The ball reached Shakib faster than he was expecting and despite being a fair distance up the pitch, the umpire was confident enough to give him out LBW. Replays suggested that the ball would just clip off stump. A brave decision from the umpire with the batsman so far up the pitch, but the correct one nonetheless.

The next over, Kumara had Saleh LBW to the arm ball for 40. Two new batsmen at the crease and both of the current bowlers with recent wickets to their names. That brought a change from one end with a seamer back into play and it worked immediately, Saman getting Hom LBW for only 1.

Reza came out with a lot to do in order to retain his spot in the team. He managed to avoid his pair, but he only made 4 before being bowled by Mendis. Bangladesh were once again collapsing and sinking without a trace.

Saman did not care about the Bangladeshi hearts. He continued his dominant spell and got another wicket when he had Nadimuddin hitting a simple return catch. Bangladesh went to lunch with the lead only at 140 and the thought of a draw all but removed from their minds.

After lunch, the tail at least managed to hang around for some time but they were clearly no batsmen and Aziz fell for 21 to Saman before Karunatilleke ended the innings with the dismissal of Mahmud.

End of Bangladesh 2nd innings 303/10, Nafees 74, Saman 3-67

Sri Lanka had 176 to get in order to win and about 40 minutes until tea and the entire evening session to go. Nobody doubted that they could get those runs. But that would probably create some chances and if Bangladesh wanted to try to push them onto the back foot, they would have to take those chances.

Sangakarra and Thirimanne came out. Sangakarra had been short of form in the series and it was as good a time as any to produce some runs for his team. That was not to be, however. Mahmud had the ball swinging all over the place with his first delivery and his second was targeted right at the stumps. Up went the appeal, and up went the umpires finger. Bangladesh celebrated. Sri Lanka were 0 for 1 after just two balls.

Matthews came out looking confident, though. He had good reason to be that way, too, after playing so well in the first innings. But Bangladesh kept things very tight. The bowlers never strayed from their plan and Thirimanne succumbed to the pressure. He tried to run one down to third man but the ball moved in off the seam and Thirimanne lost his off stump for 6. The next over, Mahmud had Jayawardene caught right in front of the stumps for a simple LBW decision. Bangladesh looked like they were on top of the world as they went into a team huddle.

Chandimal and Matthews took the team to tea with the score 30 for 3, still 146 to get. Nobody would bet on a Bangladesh win, but in the back of everyones head the thought was there.

After tea Sri Lanka showed that they were not going to settle for the draw, and the shots came out of the top drawer. But Aziz had Matthews surprised with a fast straight ball that cannoned right into the off stump. 58 for 4.

Aziz continued to be aggressive and he had Kapugedera in all sorts with a well-aimed bouncer. Kapugedera thought he could guide the ball over the slips but the ball bounced higher than he expected. He tried to pull out of the shot but it was too late as the ball ran off the face and into the waiting hands of Saleh at first slip. 60 for 5. The ground started to buzz and the commentary team started to wonder.

When Aziz had Samaweera caught at bad-pad in his next over, Bangladesh were clearly on top. They looked like they believed in themselves as well. And if Aziz had not been performing recently, he chose no better time than now to deliver the goods. A few overs later he had the last recognized batsman, Chandimal, caught by Nadimuddin for a 5-wicket haul that would definitely be spoken of for a long time to come.

But he was not done yet. Two balls later he got Kumara in a tough spot with another great short ball. Kumara tried to fend the ball off, but it went straight up and then down into Mahmadullahs hands at bat-pad. 89 for 8.

Aziz pushed himself but he could not go on forever and eventually he had to give way to another bowler. Shahzada and Reza could not break things up though, and with three overs to go until the end of the match, Aziz returned. Could Bangladesh take the final two wickets for what would be a victory nobody saw coming?

Karunatilleke blocked out the over, and then Saman blocked out six balls from Shakib that were speared right at middle and off. Aziz stood at his mark to bowl the final over of the match with the Sri Lankan crowd red hot. This is Test cricket, the commentary team said. This is why it has survived so long.

Aziz ran in to bowl the first ball. Karunatilleke just got his bat down in time to get a thick inside edge onto his pads. The second delivery was played into the onside. Karunatilleke refused the single. The third ball was defended back up the pitch. Aziz shook his head as he went back to his mark. Three balls and two wickets in hand. Something had to give.

Aziz broke first. He overstepped while trying to get as much pace as necessary and the batsman turned it behind square for a couple of runs.

Aziz went around the wicket for the next ball. It was driven through the covers for another couple. He went back over the wicket to see the ball defended back up the pitch toward him. The match was all but over then, and he bowled the final ball with much less pace than usual. Karunatilleke defended it into the offside and then the handshakes started.

Aziz lay flat on the pitch looking up at the sky. His captain came up to him and said a few words before pulling him up and handing him the ball. The Bangladesh team all came up to congratulate him and they let him lead them into the dressing room.

End of Sri Lanka 2nd innings 107/8, Chandimal 31, Aziz 6-48
Match drawn

Saleh is interviewed first in the post-match ceremony. He has nothing but praise for Aziz and says that if only they had another half an hour or so the result might just have been theirs. He says that overall the performance was much better than the last match, and now they look forward to the one day series. With this sort of performance behind them, they are sure they can pull off an upset or two then.

The Man of the Match Shahriar Nafees comes next. He expresses thanks to God and also everyone who had supported him and helped him along the way. He is happy to have set the platform for a good total that led to such a close match in the end, and he thinks that Aziz bowled one of the best spells that he had ever seen by any bowler.

Sangakarra finally comes in front of the cameras. He has praise for Aziz too, and says that after the 4th wicket fell they started looking for the draw instead of the victory. He was never really worried that they would lose the match, but the match went very close indeed. Bangladesh showed that you have to take them seriously or else they can just overwhelm you. But with the series won, his team can now focus on the one days ahead and hopefully pick up a series win there too.

Sangakarra receives the trophy and goes across to his team with it to a decent cheer from the crowd. They celebrate for some time and pose for pictures as the cameras cut to the analysts, who once again look at Tareq Aziz and his great spell of bowling.

 

[1iram1]

Bangladesh almost got the win there. Great story!

 

[Gaurav_7]

Aziz, who is he? Bangladesh, I need you to win... :upray Especially after getting so close here. Good Luck in upcoming games.

 

[Varun]

Tareq Aziz I guess, don't know much about him but he was in the Bangladesh team of my Cricket 07 game.

 

[qpeedore]

Yes, it is indeed Tareq Aziz. He only had a few international matches in the real world but in the past few ICC games he's been superb. The bowlers that are currently in the actual team don't tend to perform well, ie Shahadat, Ruebel, Shafiful, Mortaza, etc...so I end up dropping them and looking at first class form for selection. Aziz invariably ends up being drafted into the team.

Admittedly he's probably miles away from an international recall in real life since Bangladesh have a few good young seamers that are now making their mark on the international stage, but if he does earn himself another cap, I'm backing him big time.

At 21, Mahmud still has a big future ahead of him, but the few matches that he has played for the real life team have not been too bad. He should be playing for the first eleven in a few years' time.

 

[qpeedore]

So for the ODI series I need a team of 15 once again. There are some guys that won?t be staying for the ODIs in order to draft more successful players. After carefully reviewing the domestic form once again, I settled on a 15 that I felt comfortable with.

Openers
Tamim Iqbal
Shahriar Nafees
Imrul Kayes

Middle order
Mohammed Mahmadullah
Shakib Al Hasan
Naeem Islam
Alok Kapali
Shuvagoto Hom
I Kamal

Wicketkeepers
Mushfiqur Rahim
Nadimuddin

Bowlers
Dolar Mahmud
Tareq Aziz
Mohammed Shahzada
Rezaul Haque

Saleh is not much of a limited overs player and he sits out for the series. Reza has failed to impress in the tests but if he can bring his form back up in the domestic competition then a recall is likely later on in the season. Haque is brought in for him but is unlikely to get a match as the bowling attack is already good without him. Imrul Kayes comes in to cover for an opening spot, while Alok Kapali is there in case one of the spin all rounders gets injured. Otherwise the men that impressed in the drawn second Test are retained. They have to get their minds into one day mode, though.

First ODI up tomorrow.

 

[Varun]

Shuvagoto Hom
I Kamal

New players? How old are both of these?

 

[qpeedore]

Hom is a real player. He has only recently started playing cricket at first-class level but he has an average touching 60 in 8 matches. Has played for the A team in the past.

Kamal is probably a generated player. I could find no record of him on Cricinfo.

In real-world Bangladesh news...series win against New Zealand! In-game I play them later this year. Should be a good one for sure.

But the ODIs against Sri Lanka come way before that. Let's go...


Pitch report and weather forecast ? First ODI

This pitch is flatter than a pancake. The batsmen are going to love this one and it doesn?t matter if the captain winning the toss bats or fields first, it?s going to hold up throughout this match.

Up above, perfect conditions for cricket. Some cloud cover is expected in the afternoon, but there is no chance of rain at all.

Squads

Sri Lanka
Upul Tharanga (Bat)
Lahiru Thirimanne (Bat)
Angelo Matthews (All)
Dinesh Chandimal (WKB)
Mahela Jayawardene (CAPT ? Bat)
Thilan Samaweera (All)
Chamara Kapugedera (Bat)
Saliya Saman (Bowl)
Chatura Athukorala (Bowl)
Mangala Kumara (Bowl)
Ajantha Mendis (Bowl)

Sri Lanka have surprisingly left out the experienced Kumar Sangakarra from their starting eleven. Rumours say he may be battling a minor hand injury, but with nothing confirmed from the Sri Lankan camp, it is just speculation at this point.

Watch out for
Saliya Saman ? He tore through Bangladesh with vital wickets at important times during the Test series and with an ODI bowling average in the low 20s, he is an important part of the bowling attack.

Dinesh Chandimal ? He looked ominous in the second Test and this ODI stage should suit his batting style perfectly.

Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal (Bat)
Shahriar Nafees (Bat)
Mohammed Mahmadullah (All)
Shuvagoto Hom (Bat)
Shakib Al Hasan (CAPT ? All)
Naeem Islam (All)
I Kamal (Bat)
Mushfiqur Rahim (WK)
Tareq Aziz (Bowl)
Dolar Mahmud (Bowl)
Mohammed Shahzada (Bowl)

Watch out for
Tareq Aziz ? His devastating spell of 6-48 almost won the second Test for Bangladesh and despite not being able to finish the Sri Lankans off that time, now is his time for some revenge.

Shahriar Nafees ? He batted superbly in the second Test and would no doubt want to carry this form over into this ODI series as well.

Out in the middle, the captains are there for the toss. Shakib calls tails correctly and decides to bowl. He says that the team like knowing their target in advance so that they can adjust their batting to suit and that if they can restrict Sri Lanka to a good total then it should be possible to overhaul it on this great batting pitch.

Mahela is happy at being put in to bat, saying that they would have batted first if they won the toss anyway. They want to set a strong total and push Bangladesh on the back foot from the start. He says that anything around 280 should be a good total on this pitch, but not to be surprised if that is even too little after 50 overs.

Play ? First ODI

Dolar Mahmud stood at his mark awaiting the umpire to signal the start of play. As soon as he did, there was a buzz around the ground and he ran in to bowl around the wicket to the left hander. Unfortunately he overstepped and the no ball was called. Bangladesh had to defend a free hit early on. Thankfully some sharp fielding from mid off restricted the batsmen to a single and Mahmud clapped in appreciation. He settled down and bowled a tidy over after his blemish, getting 5 dots in succession.

At the other end, Aziz started well, with only two runs off of his first over. Sri Lanka hit their first boundary in Mahmud?s next over, a superb cover drive from Thirimanne.

Aziz was still bowling with venom though, a remnant of the Test series. In his second over he had Tharanga edging to second slip, who held onto a comfortable catch at waist height. He proceeded to restrict the batsmen, who found scoring difficult. The fielders were very sharp on anything in the circle and did not let them get away with easy singles. By the end of the first Powerplay, Sri Lanka were 28 for 1.

Bangladesh took the bowling Powerplay immediately, wanting to get it out of the way while they still had the Sri Lankans scoring slowly. That proved to be their detriment, as Matthews and Thirimanne took the bowlers for two boundaries each, spoiling what had so far been excellent figures for the opening strike pair.

Shahzada came on as the first change and he went for 13 in his first over with three boundaries, Thirimanne first cutting hard past backward point before driving through the covers and then hitting a glorious on drive that the fielder in the circle had no chance of stopping.

It was Shakib who halted the onslaught from Thirimanne. He came on and with his third ball got Thirimanne to play all around a straight ball that would no doubt have taken the middle stump. Thirimanne went for 40 off of 50 balls with the score at 59.

The batsmen continued to thrash Shahzada, however. Chandimal showed him no mercy as he played an excellent shot over the slips and the helpless third man for six before he crashed one through the covers for four. Shahzada would have been happy that he took a single off of the next ball to get off strike, but Matthews rubbed salt in his wounds when he slashed a short and wide ball over point for a flat six. Bangladesh had some thinking to do at that point.

Shakib bowled a respectable second over before Naeem Islam came into the attack to replace Shahzada. Different bowler, same result. Matthews hit him for two sixes and a four to send his strike rate soaring past 100. The field pushed back as Shakib continued his tidy stuff before Mahmadullah replaced Islam. He only went for a single in his first over, and the fielders would have no doubt been happy to see the ball actually hit along the ground for a change.

Matthews was not to be outdone, however. He just worked the field and exploited the vacant areas for singles and twos to bring up his 50 off of only 47 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes.

At the other end, Mahmadullah managed to get Chandimal?s wicket when the batsman attempted a sweep to a ball that bounced a bit more than he was expecting. A simple LBW decision and he was on his way. Sri Lanka were 122 for 3 in the 22nd over.

With the new batsman at the crease, Shakib took a chance and brought Shahzada back into the attack. It worked as Shahzada settled into a nice rhythm and was finally able to get his man Matthews. He played too far away from his body for a simple return catch. But his job had been done, getting 67 off of 74 balls.

Shakib eventually came back into the attack himself in the next over and he got Jayawardene to hole out to deep cover. The batsman?s mistake, really, but Shakib would take it however it came. The two batsmen were new and they would no doubt need a few balls to settle themselves down. The field came in and kept things as tight as possible.

Sri Lanka progressed steadily, with the occasional boundary. Mahmadullah had Kapugedera bowled with the arm ball in the 35th over and Bangladesh knew that the tail was exposed, at least from one end.

Shahzada had long since corrected the errors he had made in his first spell and he had Saman LBW for a duck. Sri Lanka were 173 for 7 and the 280 that Jayawardene had predicted seemed unlikely. They still had Samaraweera in the middle and a batting Powerplay in hand though. They would have to score at 8 an over for the remaining 14 to get to that 280, though.

Things slipped further for Sri Lanka when Mahmadullah got Athukorala to hit one right into the lap of long on. Nafees only had to take one step to his right to take an easy catch.

Sri Lanka took their batting Powerplay at the start of the 44th over, but it clearly was way too late for anything special to happen. Shakib bowled the first over of the Powerplay and had Kumara well caught at slip by an unlikely fielder for that position, Tareq Aziz. The commentary team mentioned that at this point in the match, the best fielders would be saving runs and a slip really was only there because it was a tail ender in the middle. Aziz seemed surprised himself at taking the catch and he almost ran right off the field in celebration.

Aziz himself took the last wicket, that of Mendis for 1, caught at slip by a more capable fielder in Islam. Sri Lanka had been bowled out within the 50 overs for under 200 and on a good pitch, it would take something special to defend that.

End of Sri Lanka innings ? 194/10(44.3), Matthews 67(74), Mahmadullah 3-26(10)
Bangladesh need 195 runs at 3.9 per over

Tareq Aziz is interviewed. He seems still excited. His figures of 7.3 overs and 2 for 22 are read out to him and he says with a smile that he owes the team and the supporters those two wickets after being unable to take them in the Test match. His great catch at slip is shown to him as well and he cannot stop smiling. He asks for it to be played again from another angle. The director obliges and it is shown again, this time in super slow motion. He says that as a bowler nobody expects him to field at slip, but his captain wanted him there. There was so little time to react that all he remembers is sticking his hand out and seeing the ball in his grasp. He politely asks for a copy of the catch as the announcer interviewing him laughs and throws it back upstairs. The analysts say that despite so many results going against them, Bangladesh have so much heart that all arguments to demote them from playing at the highest level should be stopped immediately. They had bowled out a top side in 50 overs and regardless of what happens in the chase, they should be proud of themselves.

That chase?is coming up tomorrow. Let?s leave you guys in suspense for a day. What do you think, though? Win or lose?

 

[1iram1]

You'll definitely win!!!

 

[6ry4nj]

The odds are definitely in your favour. Bangladesh only collapse about half the time, and even when they do, they still could get 190-odd.

Go Mushfiqur! Go Bangla!

 

[qpeedore]

The job was only halfway done and after a good showing in the field, it was up to the batsmen to back that up and take the match home for the visitors. They were eager to do it too. All eleven fielders had not yet taken the field after their warm-ups by the time Tamim and Nafees stepped out to bat. Tamim, as usual, took first strike. Saman was the man to bowl. He ran in and bowled a good delivery outside of off stump that Tamim played confidently to backward of point for a single to get himself and Bangladesh off the mark.

At the other end, Nafees took three balls before he got his first run, but it was confident play nonetheless as he pushed the ball into the onside and called for the single. Tamim obliged and by the time the throw passed the stumps at the non-striker?s end, Nafees was well home.

Athukorala bowled the second over and Tamim saw his chance to exert his authority. He put the first ball wide of mid on for a four before sending the next ball flying past cover for another boundary. He calmly blocked the third ball before guiding the fourth off the face down to third man. The fielder just managed to cut it off inside the boundary to save two runs.

The next couple of overs were tighter and the batsmen were happy to just dab the ball and run when they could. It was in the sixth over when Nafees unleashed a vicious pull shot that went just in front of square leg for six. The shot came out of nowhere to a ball on a good length. It was just sweetly timed and the bowler glared at Nafees in frustration. Nafees just walked up and tapped his bat on the pitch to do some gardening.

Bangladesh scored on average a boundary an over for the entire of the first Powerplay, reaching to 59 without loss by the 10 overs. Sri Lanka took their bowling Powerplay immediately, seemingly wanting to get it out of the way as early as possible.

The first wicket finally fell in the 13th over when Nafees tried to play one off of his pads but it went off of the face of the bat and to Mendis at short fine leg. Mahmadullah came in and survived a close shout for LBW before hitting a four to settle his nerves. The next over, Mendis swore that he had the new man caught behind, but the umpire?s finger stayed down. Mahmadullah tapped the pitch at his feet with his bat. Replays confirmed that the bat had hit the pitch and not the ball.

Tamim brought up his fifty with an easy single to long on. It came off of 56 deliveries with 6 fours and 1 six. He settled down after that as the middle overs progressed and Bangladesh just worked the field, taking the singles whenever they were available.

Saman finally got Tamim to make a mistake with a delivery that was short but perhaps not as wide as the batsman would have wanted it. He tried to back away to the leg side when he saw the ball so close to him, but he could only hit it to Athukorala at deep cover. He went for 61 but the score was 106 and Bangladesh only needed a further 89 to win.

Sri Lanka?s poor day so far was exemplified in the next over when Hom got a regulation bottom edge that Chandimal should have caught. Sangakarra?s ability behind the stumps was sorely missed there as Chandimal came up way too early and the ball hit his glove and went through his legs. Hom was relieved. Mahela Jayawardene was not impressed.

Mahmadullah tried to keep things moving along, but he ended up skiing one that Kapugedera judged well at long off to take a good catch. Now it was Bangladesh?s turn to have two relatively new batsmen in the middle. Shakib showed them that the pitch was still a great batting wicket by driving his first ball through extra cover for a boundary.

Kumara got him LBW to a ball that just managed to do something off of the surface though. Bangladesh were 122 for 4 at that point and while the required rate was only 4.6 an over, Sri Lanka had fought their way back into the match. An even contest now.

Hom finally got off the mark in the next over with a single to deep midwicket. He had taken a full 24 balls to break his duck. The Sri Lankans kept the field up and restricted the batsmen to only a couple of runs per over for a few overs. At the start of the final 10 overs, the asking rate was at 5.2 per over. Nothing too fancy needed by Bangladesh, but they had to get the runs or else the match would be lost.

They took their batting Powerplay at the start of the 41st over. Sri Lanka had little to change in terms of the field. But just the idea of the Powerplay seemed to motivate the batsmen, as they took 13 runs off of Mendis in the first over of the restrictions. The highlight of the over had to be Hom playing a textbook shot that sailed over long on for a big six.

With big risk comes big rewards and Islam flashed hard at a ball bowled on a good length wide of off stump. The diving short third man could not stop it and the thick edge trickled into the boundary for four. The next ball he played a more convincing shot, moving to the offside and tucking the ball away behind square for another four.

Samaraweera got Hom with one of the few balls to turn on the day. Hom was surprised when he played down the wrong line and heard the bails being dislodged as the ball hit the pitch and spun away from the bat. He went for 27. The very next ball Samaraweera had Kamal edging to Jayawardene at slip for a golden duck. Samaraweera would be on a hat trick at the start of his next over. Was there a Sri Lankan victory at the end of everything?

Bangladesh hoped not. They still had two overs to go in the Powerplay and with only a few runs to go, they wanted to get as much of those runs as possible in those 12 balls. It did not help when Mendis overstepped to give them a free hit. Thankfully for the Sri Lankans, it did not cost them that much. Islam swung hard but could only get a thick outside edge to third man for a single.

Samaraweera started his next over with lots of cheers around. He was on a hat trick and his captain set as aggressive a field as possible under the conditions. A slip was there, along with a short leg. Long off and long on were almost touching the boundary ropes. Backward square was halfway to the boundary. Midwicket was deep. So was extra cover. The rest of the men were on the edge of the circle, hoping that a catch would come their way.

Islam let everyone except his team and supporters down. He blocked the ball into the offside, where the man at cover picked up and had an angry shy at the stumps that Chandimal did well to save from going for overthrows. Some frustration present there with 13 runs to to go and 4.5 overs in which to get them.

Islam got himself a single two balls later and Rahim promptly dispatched the next two balls to the fence. 5 runs to go. Islam would not remain in the middle to see his team home, however. He fell in the very next over to Mendis off of a ball that went straight on and would probably have hit middle and off.

Tareq Aziz came out to a great cheer from the Bangladesh supporters who had almost occupied a full section of the ground. He could only make 1 before he was bowled by Mendis, though. 8 wickets down and 3 runs to get. This match was down to the wire.

Dolar Mahmud came to the middle and had a long chat with Mushfiqur before taking guard. With the match only a hit away for Bangladesh, it would have been so easy for him to swing for the fences. But he played like a man more mature than his 23 years would suggest. He blocked out the over from Mendis and the two had another conference as the field changed for the next over.

It was Samaraweera who bowled the 47th over. Mushfiqur took his guard again and faced the first ball. It was defended back to the bowler. The second ball was played to backward point. The fielder ran from his position and threw the return to the keeper almost instantaneously. No run. The third ball went to the same man at backward point again, but this time the batsmen were able to take the single. Mushfiqur had another long talk with Mahmud in the middle of the pitch. Mahmud nodded vigorously and the two touched gloves. The fourth delivery was blocked to the right of the bowler, who adjusted in his follow through to keep Mahmud on strike. The fifth ball was played nicely to long on and they ran the first run hard, looking for two. Matthews was the fielder, however, and he scooped the ball up and threw it back in one smooth motion. Only one run. But the match was tied.

Samaraweera pushed the last ball of his over faster and flatter and wide of the stumps. Mushfiqur cut it past backward point and the batsmen ran the single that took them to victory. The Bangladeshis ran onto the field. Tamim in his shorts, Shahzada and Islam wearing their pads, Shakib with a huge smile of relief on his face. They all hugged and congratulated each other before the handshakes began. Afterward, they went across to the Bangladeshi supporters and thanked them and signed autographs as everything got set for the post-match ceremony.

End of Bangladesh innings ? 195/8(48), Tamim 61, Samaraweera 2-28(8)
Bangladesh win by 2 wickets

At the ceremony, Jayawardene says that the team did not bat well. They fell only a few runs short of what it would have taken to win the match, but really on a pitch like this one they should have gotten up to 250 at least. Credit had to go to the Bangladeshi bowlers, but with the sort of batting Sri Lanka had, it just was not their day at the crease. The rumours about Sangakarra were partly true. He has been carrying a wrist injury for some time and the management thought it best that he sit the first match out. But they had to go back to the drawing board and the nets to prepare for the next match.

Shakib says that winning, especially against a subcontinent team like Sri Lanka, always means the world to the team and the supporters. He thanks the fans for their continued support and says that when they bowled Sri Lanka out, he knew today would be a special day for Bangladesh cricket. Things got a little tight in the end, but the win is what matters and the guys would celebrate tonight before getting together again and going for another win to take the series.

The man of the match is Tamim Iqbal. He says that batting was really great on this pitch and he was unlucky to be out to a shot that he knows he can perfect. He has to work a little on his concentration, especially in long innings, but he is happy to contribute to his team and when they win it makes each run all the more satisfying.

Oh, yeah! I won, baby! The upside to a good imagination is that I literally feel this win for the team. I saw it coming after the drawn Test, but to have it happen before my eyes is an amazing feeling. Hope I can win the next ODI and thus take the series! Next match in a couple days. Bring out the champagne, I need to celebrate this!

 

[surendar]

Writing is well alligned with the updates, but a small suggestion to add some template style presentation - headings, sub titles, Innings description will add more to the excellent writing is what I feel.

Just a suggestion though.