Saturday, March 31, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Bangladesh's chance for unprecedented glory
Just how momentous is Bangladesh's passage to the Asia Cup final? Decide for yourself after reading these figures. In nine previous tournaments, Bangladesh had played 29 matches and won two, against Hong Kong and UAE. Out of three games this time, they have won two, against World Cup 2011 finalists India and Sri Lanka, and lost a close match to Pakistan.
For Bangladesh's tireless supporters, starved of success but never lacking in passion, this is like finding an oasis in a desert. A sea of the darker shade of green will be cheering every run that Bangladesh score tomorrow and every Pakistan wicket that falls. Victory won't be demanded, though; an appearance in the final is already a windfall for the fan.
How will the Bangladesh players approach this game, probably the biggest in their careers so far? Apart from blanking New Zealand some time ago at home, this is the first time they have put together consistently solid performances for three games running against world-class opposition. Will the fourth time prove to be too much? Will the pressure of a final, something they have hardly experienced, restrict the freedom with which they bat? Will their bowling and fielding be able to hold together?
Whatever be the result, Bangladesh's surge to the final holds the promise of another close match. They will fight; if they go down, they will still be heroes. If they win, they'll become part of folklore in the years to come. Either way, a bit of history has already been created.
While tomorrow's contest pales before the fervour an India-Pakistan final would have generated, Pakistan won't mind running into Bangladesh. They have relied on their bowling, as they often do, for getting them to the final. The one time their batting appeared to have almost won a game for them, they ran into Virat Kohli.
Pakistan have underperformed in the Asia Cup, winning it only once compared to the four titles each won by India and Sri Lanka. A second title beckons tomorrow, unless Bangladesh can ride on the passion and momentum and play beyond themselves again.
Form guide
Bangladesh: WWLLL (most recent first)
Pakistan: LWWLL
In the spotlight
Had Shakib Al Hasan been playing for some of the bigger Test sides, he would have been given a lot more respect than he gets at present. He averages 54.50 with the bat and 22.29 with the ball in ODI wins. He carries the expectations of Bangladesh fans lightly and, more often than not, puts in a telling contribution. He was Man of the Match in the hosts' wins over India and Sri Lanka and would have got the award against Pakistan had the Bangladesh lower order not collapsed around him. The hosts have found Nasir Hossain, but for the moment, as Shakib goes, so do Bangladesh.
Umar Gul helped Pakistan avoid defeat against Bangladesh with a three-wicket burst that included the wickets of Nasir and Shakib. One new ball or two, Gul has found reverse swing. When asked how he was getting such movement with a lush green outfield in Mirpur, he pointed to the dry-looking square. Bangladesh were able to survive the threat of Lasith Malinga on Tuesday. Gul will come hard at them tomorrow, especially after going for runs against India.
Team news
Nazmul Hossain took three wickets against Sri Lanka on his comeback in place of the injured Shafiul Islam. Bangladesh could go in with the same side that beat Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Nazimuddin, 3 Jahurul Islam, 4 Nasir Hossain, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Nazmul Hossain, 11 Shahadat Hossain
Pakistan played five bowlers against India, but Wahab Riaz, included in place of the specialist wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, went for 50 in four overs. Sarfraz is expected to return for the final, freeing Umar Akmal of the additional responsibility of keeping wicket.
Pakistan (possible): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Hammad Azam, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Aizaz Cheema
Stats and trivia
Pakistan have made the Asia Cup final for only the third time. They won their previous final (in Dhaka in 2000) by 39 runs. Bangladesh, on the other hand, have made their first final of a multi-nation tournament since reaching the final of the tri-series at home in 2009
If Bangladesh go on to win the final, they will become only the second team after Australia (in the 2003 World Cup) to beat India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in a single tournament
Quotes
"I was out of the country and having a holiday when these things were happening. It gave me some rest and mental freshness. I wanted to prove myself in the game after I came back. I worked hard and it's going alright."
With three half-centuries in three games, Tamim Iqbal has more than proved his point after having been left out of the original Asia Cup squad.
Dramatic last over run-out leaves match tied
Any lingering thoughts of a Caribbean holiday were swept decisively away from Australia by a thrilling and courageous West Indies chase to force a dramatic tie at a heaving Arnos Vale Ground. Tuesday had been declared a public holiday in St Vincent and a sold-out crowd was kept on its feet throughout as the two sides finished locked on 220 apiece on a pitch almost as lively for spin bowling as for dancing at the boundary's edge.
The West Indies needed only one run from the final three deliveries to be bowled by Brett Lee, but a mix-up between the captain Darren Sammy and the last man Kemar Roach saw both stranded at the striker's end as Lee broke the stumps at his. However, the hosts' fight to level the scores having been mired as deeply as 78 for 5 will provide plenty of belief for Sammy's men, while also showing Australia's players that they cannot afford to misstep quite so badly as they have done at times in the three matches so far.
This time the fault lay with the batsmen, who squandered the best of the conditions and failed completely to cope with the crafty spin of Sunil Narine. But there was also a cautionary note for the stand-in captain Shane Watson, who spoiled an otherwise admirable bowling stint with a no-ball that reprieved Andre Russell at a critical time. Watson fumed over the episode and may need to calm himself more rapidly on future captaincy assignments, not least on this tour.
Having built a sound platform to chase the 221 required at 52 for 1, the hosts lost four wickets for 26 as Xavier Doherty and Watson cut through the batting with a combination of spin, changes of pace and alert field placement. However a series of doughty contributions from Johnson Charles, Kieron Pollard, Russell and Carlton Baugh brought the West Indies to the brink, and Sammy would have taken his side home without a moment of running impulse from Roach.
In front of a teeming Kingstown gathering that caused a long trail of morning traffic to the ground, the Australians had been briefly delighted to find a pitch offering more pace than had been found in either of the first two fixtures here. However, they lost their previous enthusiasm when the offspinner Narine used it, along with the sharp spin that had been on offer all week, to cause considerable torment.
The West Indies needed only one run from the final three deliveries to be bowled by Brett Lee, but a mix-up between the captain Darren Sammy and the last man Kemar Roach saw both stranded at the striker's end as Lee broke the stumps at his. However, the hosts' fight to level the scores having been mired as deeply as 78 for 5 will provide plenty of belief for Sammy's men, while also showing Australia's players that they cannot afford to misstep quite so badly as they have done at times in the three matches so far.
This time the fault lay with the batsmen, who squandered the best of the conditions and failed completely to cope with the crafty spin of Sunil Narine. But there was also a cautionary note for the stand-in captain Shane Watson, who spoiled an otherwise admirable bowling stint with a no-ball that reprieved Andre Russell at a critical time. Watson fumed over the episode and may need to calm himself more rapidly on future captaincy assignments, not least on this tour.
Having built a sound platform to chase the 221 required at 52 for 1, the hosts lost four wickets for 26 as Xavier Doherty and Watson cut through the batting with a combination of spin, changes of pace and alert field placement. However a series of doughty contributions from Johnson Charles, Kieron Pollard, Russell and Carlton Baugh brought the West Indies to the brink, and Sammy would have taken his side home without a moment of running impulse from Roach.
In front of a teeming Kingstown gathering that caused a long trail of morning traffic to the ground, the Australians had been briefly delighted to find a pitch offering more pace than had been found in either of the first two fixtures here. However, they lost their previous enthusiasm when the offspinner Narine used it, along with the sharp spin that had been on offer all week, to cause considerable torment.
George Bailey, promoted to No. 4, and Michael Hussey provided some measure of stability to the innings, from an uncertain 58 for 3, but neither batsman could quite attain command of the bowling. Hussey's dismissal signalled another flurry of wickets, this time the giddy loss of five for six runs. Marlon Samuels and Roach both contributed with clever spells, but it was Narine's deception of the touring batsmen that was most complete, their muddle exemplified by two run-outs in the slipstream of Narine overs.
When West Indies chased, Charles and Kieran Powell enjoyed a more fruitful stand than their one-ball effort in the second ODI, and Watson had to introduce Doherty's spin in the seventh over as he sought a wicket. Powell hammered Doherty over the wide long-on rope, but next ball the spinner took revenge by running a delivery across the opener to draw a clear stumping for Matthew Wade.
Watson used a slower ball to tunnel through Samuels' defence, and in the same over Darren Bravo was confounded by a delivery that disturbed the surface and sent his drive straight to Bailey at short cover. A similar dismissal accounted for Charles, though he could have fewer queries about how the ball had reached him off the pitch, and Doherty used another straighter variation to cramp Dwayne Bravo's attempt to cut and coax an edge into Wade's gloves.
Pollard had seen the West Indies home on Sunday, but had a far sterner task ahead of him this time. For a while he delighted team-mates and spectators, sending one mighty swipe at Lee clean out of the ground. To rid him of this threat, Watson called on Nathan Lyon, Pollard's sometime compatriot in Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition.
As he has done before, Lyon was not afraid to sacrifice a six in search of a wicket: Pollard cleared Doherty at long-on once, but found him when attempting to repeat the stroke two balls later. Russell maintained the fight in the company of Baugh, smiting a rival to Pollard's earlier six when he crashed Clint McKay down the ground and beyond it.
The required rate crept up gradually, aided by Watson's thrift, and when Russell was bowled attempting an impatient heave the game appeared up. However replays showed that Watson had overstepped, and Russell's rearguard went on. As if to frustrate Watson further, Russell was also to be bowled by the resulting free-hit.
As he and Doherty had almost exhausted their overs, Watson called on McKay to probe for the clinching wickets. As the crowd clung to rum-fuelled visions of victory, he seemed to do just that: first teasing an edge out of Russell that Wade dived to claim, then prompting Baugh to send an attempted flick skyward for Daniel Christian to pouch.
Not willing to give up, Narine hit out boldly to reduce the requirement, and Sammy showed the sort of composure he is beginning to make a habit of. However Roach ran on the third-last ball as though it was the last, and Australia salvaged something.
Having won the toss, Watson had expected a similar surface to those previously encountered in Kingstown, but noted more evidence of dryness. In the first few overs he and David Warner timed the ball more successfully than at any stage of the first two games, and it was with the score a promising 33 for 0 that Sammy called on Narine. His first over saw the ball popping and spinning far more excitedly than the batsmen were expecting, and Watson's response in the next over was to chase a tight single that became fatal when Russell threw the stumps down.
The wicketkeeper Wade, back to No. 3 in the shuffle that had Peter Forrest dropped to make room for Lyon's spin, struggled mightily in his brief time against Narine, also narrowly avoiding a run-out. Shuffling too far across his crease, it was no great surprise when Narine spun a delivery around Wade's pads to bowl him for a fretful 2 from 11 balls. Narine's analysis told a tale of bewitchment: 5-1-5-1.
Bailey and Hussey were vigilant as they built a significant union, tallying 112 before they were separated by Samuels. His role in the dismissal was more technical than practical, a short ball pulled venomously by Bailey - he had just struck a compelling straight six - straight into the hands of Bravo behind square leg. Bailey cursed his exit, just at the moment when it seemed Australia had wrested the advantage, and they would prove to be prescient oaths.
Michael Hussey misread Samuels' length and turn to be stumped by a distance. Next over David Hussey was deceived completely by Roach's perfectly pitched slower ball and bowled, and after a first-up wide Brett Lee fell to the same variation, this time dragging a shorter offering onto his stumps. The innings had lost its way; it so very nearly cost the match.
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