There’s a saying that statistics don’t always paint the best image. Though it has become standard practice nowadays to analyze the statistics before a game and plan accordingly. The second Test of the BAN vs SL series 2022 started on Monday (May 23) at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla stadium. The statistics on this surface heavily favour spinners. Therefore, slower bowlers will play an important role in this encounter. Let’s take a look at the Mirpur ground’s bowling statistics in Test format.
SBNCS, Mirpur: What Do the Stats Say?
While not all of the data will appear to be true in every match, knowing the history of the venue is essential for teams to develop a game plan. Bowlers play a critical role in winning Test matches. As the saying goes, bowlers win games for their teams. A team must take 20 wickets to win a match; thus, wicket-taking bowlers are essential.
The ground stats are generally evaluated by the team while developing a game strategy. Which bowlers are best under these conditions? How does the pitch perform on the ground each day? What are the most successful bowlers on the ground? This sort of information assists a team in establishing a starting lineup for the match. Let’s get right into the Mirpur ground stats.
Sher-e-Bangla Stadium’s Bowling Stats in Test Format
In the case of Sher-e-Bangla stadium, the spinners always get a special advantage from the surface. Slower bowlers enjoy bowling at this venue because of the sluggish nature of the pitches, whether it is T20 cricket, One-Day cricket, or a longer-version format. In Test cricket, spinners are a terrorizing factor for the batters. Spinners have found more grip and assistance from the surface in the last two days, making batters even more nervous.
One can easily understand this by looking into the man of the match awards list in the Test format. Spinners have won more than 50% of the player of the match awards in the longer-version of cricket at the SBNCS. 12 man of the match awards won by spinners, batters won 6, while pace bowlers won 4 of them. Now the question may arise, why do the spinners dominate the best player awards at the Mirpur ground? To know the answer to it, one has to look at the overall bowling stats and how each type of bowler has fared on this ground.
The Spinners Overall Performance at the SBNCS
When spinners have taken 403 wickets out of 651, it clearly indicates that they dominate heavily at this venue. Prior to the second Test of the BAN vs SL series in 2022, spinners had taken almost 63% of wickets. This figure is enough to incite both teams to include more spinners in their playing XI. Besides, the number of spinners that have been used is more than the pacers.
A total of 127 spinners have been used and bowled close to 4,000 overs in 22 matches. Besides, the economy rate is 3.14 for the spinner, which is much better than pacers. The most successful spinner at this ground is Shakib Al Hasan, who has taken 63 wickets in 30 innings with an average of 32.03.
The Pacers Overall Performance at the SBNCS
One of the reasons fast bowlers haven’t been as impressive as the spinners at the Mirpur ground is that Bangladesh is a predominantly spin-reliant country. They have plenty more options in spin bowling than in pace bowling. However, things have improved over the last 2-3 years. Bangladesh has recently produced some quality pacers who have performed well on the international stage. The expectation is that the pacers will also be as dominant as the spinners at this venue in future.
Overall, 94 pacers have been used at this venue and they have maintained an economy rate of less than 3.50, which is good. The Pacers have also bowled significantly fewer overs than the spinners. They have bowled just over 2,500 overs. The most successful pacer at this ground is India’s Zaheer Khan, who picked up 17 wickets in just two matches with an average of 13.94.
Aftermath
According to the overall bowling statistics in the Test format, the spinners obviously rule at the SBNCS, Mirpur. They will be much more effective in the last two days, when batsmen will find it difficult to survive the pitch. Having said that, the pacers will also play a role in providing the necessary breakthroughs. However, the battle between spinners and batters in the second Test of the BAN vs SL series 2022 will be fascinating to witness.
Source: United News of Bangladesh