As the form guide kept on suggesting, Bangladesh have indeed succumbed to a defeat to Afghanistan in their opening match of the 2022 Asia Cup.
But what was more unfortunate than the defeat was that all that talk about a new approach to the format and what else was thrown into the garbage bin was another repeat of the meek Tigers in the format.
There are several questions to ask from just this match. Yes, Afghanistan are objectively a better T20I side than Bangladesh, but what makes the defeat worse is that Bangladesh had all the cards in their hand. Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin then just let go.
But before that, the question comes as to why did Bangladesh opt to bat first? Maybe they did not want the pressure of the chase. Also, the pitch looked like it got worse in the second innings, so was it the right call?
No, primarily because of the fragile batting lineup. When a team chases, they know their target. But batting first, there’s always a doubt whether the score they aim for is enough.
Then comes the elephant in the room. Why was Mohammad Naim picked? He came into the squad at the last moment, meaning that he was not the first choice for the opening spot, then why did he play?
And after all that talk about a new approach, the batsmen had no intent. Naim played eight balls to score six, and Anamul Haque went up a notch to score five from 14 balls and looked like a man drowning in the ocean.
While Shakib Al Hasan’s batting displayed intent, his brief stay felt more like a tailender trying to score as many runs as possible rather than a top-order batsman, signified by the cross-batted shot he got out with.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad were sluggish as usual, and Afif Hossain’s lack of skill against wrist spin prevailed.
The only good thing was Mosaddek Hossain, who played a fantastic knock considering the circumstances, and at least gave Bangladesh a shot at winning.
Then Shakib’s captaincy took over, and up until 14 overs, Bangladesh were almost pulling off a heist, undeservingly.
Then, Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saif Uddin happened, and they produced a performance worthy of the walk of shame.
On a pitch that seemed tailor-made for the Fizz, he looked clueless in front of the Afghan batters and bowled wayward to shift the momentum to the Afghanistan camp.
What Mustafiz started, Saif put the final nail in. His 18th over was nothing but idiotic as he struggled to find his line, length, and the basic intelligence of a bowler bowling at the death.
But it all comes down to one simple thing. If the team was going to do precisely what they had been doing, then why all the fuss before the tournament? Why were the head coach and the captain sacked? Why were there so many changes if that’s not seen on the pitch?
Yes, change takes time, and it would have been way too much to expect a drastic change in the team’s attitude after just three or four days of training under the new hierarchy. But there could have been signs which weren’t.
But kudos must go to the Afghans, who fought bravely and brought their A-game to ensure a spot in the Super 4.
Now Bangladesh will have to fight tooth-and-nail with Sri Lanka for the other spot. Either they survive to live another day, or they come down crashing. There is no in-between.
