The kind of hype which surrounded the Bangladesh Women cricket was very much deflated when they lost to Pakistan by 9 wickets in the Women Asia Cup. Pakistan was very spot on while Bangladesh looked very out of place.
Bangladesh had beaten Thailand and expected to win against Pakistan after their World cup Qualifiers cup victory but basically flopped. Its true Pakistan is a strong team but as defenders of the Cup , they were expected to do much better. As cricket site Cricbuzz said in their live commentary rather frankly, “Bangladesh have been awful with the bat and then with the ball as well” It’s obviously a malady we only know oh-so –well when it comes to cricket in Bangladesh.
Woeful batting
Bangladesh lost the toss and were put to bat and scored 70 for the loss of 8 wickets. Salma Khatun top scored with 24 and only two other players reached double digits. It speaks volumes about the “awful” batting. Almost everyone who saw the match has said the team lacked intent and purpose. Either they took the match lightly or don’t know how to take it seriously.
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana provided the usual excuses but they sounded hollow. “ The top-order collapsed and the wicket being slow, we couldn’t execute our plans. We thought it was a good pitch to bat on. But the wicket was damp. The bowlers were not able to bowl in the right areas. I think we need to work on some issues and come back stronger.”
Of course the wicket was damp, that’s part of cricket life but how one bats on a sticky wicket is part of the growing up process. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that Bangladesh has shown that trend or intent in this match.
Pakistan was brutal
Pakistan played on the same wicket and their spinners bowed very smartly and tamed Bangladesh batters in a way that made the girls look rather inept. The wicket improved a bit when Pakistan began to bat but the team was clearly more confident and intent on winning and did so in only 12 overs. Bangladesh never managed to look like the champions they still are in the entire match.
Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof had this to say about the Pakistan team performance. “Very clinical from the bowlers. The early wickets put them under pressure. We are working on our spin. We executed our plans well. They are a good side. We need to give the opposition respect. Today’s performance was good.” It was a very polite response from a team which had basically “crushed” – BD media’s favourite term to describe defeat- the defending champions rather resoundingly and moved to the top of the table.
The rumour that is going around that the team was jinxed after BCB chief Papon watched them win and praised their performance has no basis, we can confirm.
Source: United News of Bangladesh