Bangladesh v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Mirpur

Bangladesh batsmen must step up

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya

December 2, 2011

 Tamim Iqbal

Match facts

Saturday, December 3
Start time 1330 (0730 GMT)

Big Picture

Bangladesh are floundering. Their performance has been just as abject as Pakistan's has been dominant. The depth in the pace attack that gave Pakistan that extra advantage against Sri Lanka in the Test series in the Middle East has been complemented superbly by their spinners in the limited-overs formats. Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez have outshone their Bangladesh counterparts, whose over-reliance on Shakib Al Hasan's all-round abilities can only take them so far.

The slow and low tracks in Mirpur may have stifled Pakistan's batting, but it's done worse for the hosts. Their captain Mushfiqur Rahim said: "I have not experienced what home advantage is in the last two series, to be honest with you. When you talk about home advantage, you expect to be playing on pitches you are familiar with, so you know what a good total would be, be it 240 or 150." But he was also prompt to point out that his batsmen "lacked application". They lasted just 30.3 overs in the previous game, struggled to last 20 overs in the Twenty20 game before that and even in Tests, and have largely found it tough to bat for extended periods.

The pitches so far may not have been to their liking, but they've still played to Bangladesh's strength - spin. They've just been up against opponents who, apart from being significantly superior, have exploited those conditions better. Not many expected Bangladesh to cause an upset against an opponent that is on a high, but not many would have thought they'd capitulate this badly at home. With four games still remaining on the tour, their batsmen, especially, need to step up as no one's exposed the difference between the teams as glaringly as they have.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LWLLW (most recent first)
Pakistan: WWWWL

In the spotlight...

Tamim Iqbal missed the Twenty20 game due to a knee injury and was dismissed for a duck in the first ODI. A fluent strokemaker, he's also shown the ability to play long innings, and in testing conditions he's among the best equipped in his side to face the Pakistan bowling. He got half-centuries in each of the two home Tests against West Indies before this series and as their best batsman, needs to lead by example.

Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan wicketkeeper, has done reasonably well behind the stumps but hasn't really impressed with the bat. He has an average of 45.16 in first-class cricket but has only managed a highest of 24 in his last five innings. Pakistan have been trying out Umar Akmal behind the stumps in some limited-overs matches, and Sarfraz needs to do much more with the bat to keep his place.

Team news

Bangladesh may look to bring Imrul Kayes back to strengthen their batting.

Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Naeem Islam, 8 Nasir Hossain, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain.

Pakistan are likely to retain the same side as they attempt to take the series, and leave any experimentation for the third ODI.

Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Shoaib Malik, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Aizaz Cheema.

Stats and trivia

• Mushfiqur Rahim is just 14 away from reaching 2000 runs in ODIs. He'll be the sixth Bangladesh batsman to get to that landmark when he does.

Quotes

"If the batsmen want they can survive. You can take singles, rotate the strike and play yourself in. Maybe because of Twenty20 cricket now, batsmen don't have the temperament."
Shahid Afridi presents a different take on the Mirpur pitch

Siddhartha Talya is a sub editor at ESPNcricinfo

Tamim Iqbal blasted 32 before he was bowled

Tamim Iqbal blasted 32 before he was bowled, Bangladesh v Australia, 3rd ODI, Mirpur, April 13, 2011

 © Associated Press

Tamim Iqbal blasted 32 before he was bowled, Bangladesh v Australia, 3rd ODI, Mirpur, April 13, 2011 © Associated Press

Now or never for Bangladesh

Bangladesh v South Africa, Group B, World Cup 2011, Mirpur

Now or never for Bangladesh

Tamim Iqbal to step up

Match Facts

March 19, Mirpur
Start time 09.30 am (03.30 GMT)

The Big Picture

The back-door is shut now. Had West Indies won their game last night, Bangladesh would have made it through to the quarter-finals. As it turned out, the game between West Indies and England twisted and turned, went inside-out, upside-down, before England bit another bullet and stayed alive in the tournament. Surely about a 1000 miles north, the Bangladesh players watched in hope and later in agony in their team hotel in Dhaka. Thanks to that result, Bangladesh are now a point behind England, and a long way behind every contender in terms of net run-rate. There is an upside too: Bangladesh no longer need to watch helplessly, hoping for some other team to do what is desirable for them.

It's relatively simple now: beat South Africa and go through, no who-does-what elsewhere in the group. However, just the thought and the equation are simple, not actually beating South Africa, whose pace attack - even on the slow and low pitch at Mirpur - will provide the hosts with their biggest test. South Africa have also been on a bit of a roll, their tight win against India cancelling out the close defeat to England. They will want to finish at the top of the table, and hence face the fourth-placed team in Group A. Given how this World Cup has gone, it might not be the most desirable thing to do, for it could mean they might have to face Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.

There is no reason why Bangladesh shouldn't back themselves, though. They have beaten South Africa in a World Cup before, they have the advantage of home conditions, they have had back-to-back wins, but they also know this is not going to be easy. It's been a funny World Cup so far: Bangladesh, bowled out for 58 by West Indies, were supporting West Indies yesterday; England, great rivals of South Africa, will be supporting South Africa tomorrow, as will be West Indies.

Graeme Smith certainly doesn't want to miss a poke at England. "I think English fans are getting used to supporting South Africans these days," he said on the eve of this game.

What happens if…

South Africa win: Bangladesh are knocked out, and India, England and West Indies go through

Bangladesh win: Bangladesh go through, leaving West Indies a must-win game against India

The game is tied or no-result: England go through thanks to a superior net run-rate, and Bangladesh are left hoping West Indies lose their game on Sunday

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh WWLWL
South Africa WWLWW

Pitch and conditions

The Bangladesh part of the World Cup returns to Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, where Bangladesh will like a turning surface, but it is not quite possible to create a rank turner in Mirpur. The best they can manage is the low and slow pitch that they rolled out for Ireland. There is no rain forecast, and there shouldn't be too much of early-morning freshness for this day game, because the sun is already about three-and-a-half hours old by the 9.30 am start in Bangladesh.

Watch out for...

Bangladesh's best batsman, Tamim Iqbal, hasn't had a great World Cup, and he knows how much rests on him. He will want to set that record straight, and make sure this is not his last chance in the tournament.

Graeme Smith has had his share of problems at the top of the order, but playing Bangladesh in Bangladesh provides him with a fairly good challenge before the knockouts.

Team news

Bangladesh won't make too many changes to their winning combination, except that offspinner Naeem Islam is likely to replace left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo, on account of a few left-hand batsmen in the South African line-up.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Shahriar Nafees, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Suhrawadi Shuvo / Naeem Islam, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain.

South Africa are back to full fitness, and Imran Tahir may come back in place of either Johan Botha or Robin Peterson. If AB de Villiers comes back, he might not keep, which might mean that Colin Ingram, despite his 46 against Ireland, might have to sit out.

South Africa (probable): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Morne van Wyk (wk), 8 Johan Botha / Imran Tahir, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel

Stats

• No Bangladesh batsman has scored a World Cup century.
• The only time Bangladesh have beaten South Africa in international cricket was in Providence in the previous World Cup.
• AB de Villiers, with 318 runs from four innings, is the only middle-order batsman in the top-six run-getters of the tournament so far.

Quotes

"We are on the right track and moving forward to our target as we already have won three matches out of five as per our expectation. Everything is okay with the team, but still we believe that we are yet to play our best cricket in the tournament."
Tamim Iqbal calls for his team to play the best they can

"They need to win the game. We expect a very passionate crowd. They will also be the team under pressure so we hope to be able to force them into doing things they wouldn't want to do."
Graeme Smith knows who will be more desperate come Saturday