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Miraz left reflecting on bowling ‘mistakes’
SPORTS REPORTER
Bangladesh’s stand-in skipper Mehedi Hasan Miraz admitted there is work to be done in the bowling department after it got exposed on the flat tracks in St Kitts against West Indies in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series, which the visitors lost 3-0.
Twice in the series, West Indies pulled off record run chases in ODIs at St Kitts, first chasing down a 295-run target in the series opener, highest successful chase ever at the venue, and then on Thursday they broke their own record by cruising to a 322-run target with 25 balls to spare.
On the batting front, while problems remained with the top-order, the lower-middle order turned up for the Tigers in all three matches, with Mahmudullah Riyad being the standout performer with three consecutive half-centuries.
In the first ODI, Mahmudullah produced a 94-run partnership alongside Jaker Ali to take the score past 290. In the second ODI, the veteran put up a 92-run stand with tail-ender Tanzim Sakib, highest eighth-wicket stand for the Tigers in the 50-over format.
In the series finale, Mahmudullah formed another record partnership, this time a 150-run stand off just 117 deliveries for the sixth wicket with Jaker to take Bangladesh to 321 for 5.
Opener Tanzid Tamim, skipper Miraz and Soumya Sarkar also found runs in this series.
However, the much talked about pace battery did not live up to the hype in the ODI series. After defeats in the first two matches, Bangladesh went with a spin-heavy eleven in the third ODI but the ploy backfired as collectively the spinners conceded 211 runs, going at 7.58 runs an over.
Miraz was the most economical, bowling his full quota for 67 runs but remained wicketless. Nasum Ahmed went for eight an over in his seven overs, bagging one wicket, while leg-spinner Rishad Hossain picked up two wickets but conceded at a shade below eight runs per over.
Part-timer Afif Hossain also rolled his arm over for two overs that cost 19 runs.
Miraz felt that their batting had positives but the bowlers needed to pull their socks up.
“The wicket was good and we batted well. Losing after scoring 321 runs is disappointing. I did not think we would lose the match. We made small mistakes, had we not committed those, we could have done better,” Miraz said after the match.
This series was Bangladesh’s last ODI assignment before next year’s ICC Champions Trophy, where pitches are likely to be batting friendly, which Miraz feels would be a challenge for the bowlers.
“The Champions Trophy is coming up and the wickets there will be good for batting… It will be a challenge for the bowlers since we could not defend after scoring 300 runs,” he said.
Miraz, however, also pointed out that Bangladesh were without some regular members in the ODI series against West Indies and hoped the team will compete in the Champions Trophy with a full squad.
“It would have been better if we could win the series as it would have bolstered our confidence ahead of the Champions Trophy. But still we have time in hand… Many players were injured and could not play in the Afghanistan series and in this series. Hopefully before the Champions Trophy we will get the full ODI team.”