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THIRD EYE

Tigers overwhelmed

Naimul Karim
At the end of Sri Lanka's tour of Bangladesh last year Mominul Haque was asked what he learnt from the series. He animatedly talked about Kumar Sangakkara's patience and the manner in which the veteran planned his innings.
In fact most of the other players did the same thing. Mushfiqur Rahim, during the post and pre-match press conferences, consistently identified Sri Lanka's senior pair -- Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene - as a big threat. Imrul Kayes, after scoring a century back then, had a long chat with Sangakkara, looking for words of wisdom at the end of the series.
These players after all are legends of the game and their advice could be crucial for some of the younger Bangladeshi cricketers.
However, the problem with that is that players tend to get overawed on the field. Sangakkara had bludgeoned the Tigers with a triple century and a hundred in the same Test last year.
And yesterday it seemed as though some of the Bangladeshi players didn't believe that they could actually get these champions out, despite several attempts.
Sangakkara was dropped twice; while the first one, a caught-and-bowled opportunity off Taskin Ahmed, was difficult, Mominul Haque should have grasped the second with
both hands at point.
Mushfiqur had a torrid time behind the wickets. Apart from missing a stumping chance, he also gave a series of byes. It was perhaps Anamul Haque's dropped-catch in the first over that set the tone on the field. He also missed a run-out opportunity which Dilshan had practically given up on.
It definitely wasn't a case of lack of skill; the Tigers have held on to more difficult catches in the past. It was just the case of belief. It therefore is not a surprise that Sangakkara and Dilshan have the highest number of hundreds against the Tigers.
The additional pressure of playing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the first time ever also could have been a factor that the players found difficult to deal with; but for most parts of the game it seemed as though they were overwhelmed with their opposition.
It's not as though theTigers weren't aware of this problem. A glance at the stats would immediately make it clear how much the Sri Lankans, especially the seniors, have enjoyed playing against Bangladesh.
Mashrafe even brought in the field to Sangakkara, with an aggressive aim to get him out early instead of just trying to keep him quiet. However, while the skipper had the right idea, the fielders unfortunately failed to execute the plan.
Bangladesh's horrible ODI-run last year began after they lost to Sri Lanka in bizarre fashion, which saw the visitors win despite being reduced to 67 for 8. It was quite obvious that the defeat took a hit on the players' mental strength.
With three more games to go, the Tigers will need to win two matches to keep their quarter-final hopes alive. However, the question remains whether they can prove the past wrong and bring about a different outcome this time around.