It was an absolute nerve-jangler at Mirpur. The Tigers
survived an Afghanistan scare. At one stage, it seemed, the Afghans would take
the match away from Bangladesh, but the Tigers bounced back well to snatch a
thrilling victory by a narrow margin.
But one man didn’t lose his patience and kept on trying as
he believed, a comeback was still possible. That man was the captain of
Bangladesh Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.
As a captain, Mash was at his tactical best last night.
Firstly, he didn’t step back and switch to a defensive mode,
but attacked when the Shah and Shahidi partnership was well poised. He brought
the third man up and placed a wide slip or maneuvered the gully, kept mid off
inside the circle and instead of a deep midwicket , engaged a short midwicket
and leg slip and advised the likes of Rubel and Taskin to bang it short.
Mash maneuvered his field and stuck to it. He didn’t panic
and his perseverance fetched results when an ambitious Rahmat Shah came down
the wicket against Shakib Al Hasan in the 41st over. In fact, he was made to do
such as Mash set the field in such a manner, it lured Rahmat to attempt an
ambitious stroke. Shakib’s flight flummoxed Rahmat and Bangladesh got the most
important breakthrough.
Taking up the mantle in bowling
Secondly, Mashrafe’s courage to take the responsibility on
his own shoulders when his two strike bowlers were found wanting. He brought
himself into the attack when Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zardan were all set
to unleash another dangerous partnership. He looked tired, but not short of
spirits.
A back of a length off-cutter from Mashrafe shortened
Zardan’s stay at the crease and enlightened Bangladesh’s chances.
One must not forget Mash’s response to Mohammad Shahzad’s
humungous six in the seventh over. Shahzad clobbered a huge six in the fifth
ball, but it didn’t deter Mash from dishing out a slow-in-cutter to end up the
ghost of Shahzad. It was Bangladesh’s first breakthrough and an important one
to dent Afghanistan’s aggressive intent.
This is what captaincy is all about. Even when the chips are
down, an aggressive captain doesn’t hide but steps up to inspire his teammates.
Thirdly, Mash’s faith in Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain was
praiseworthy. Taskin and Rubel were mediocre with the ball in the major part of
the match. While Rubel struggled to manage his short-pitched stuff, Taskin’s
struggle with his rectified action was evident. But Mash, didn’t lose faith and
persisted with them.
Mash’s immense faith in his
players pays off
Nabi is a dangerous player and surely, a captain would not
take the risk of engaging those bowlers who had been pale in his previous
overs. But, Mash invested faith in Taskin to outsmart Nabi and it paid rich
dividends.
That wicket ignited Taskin and he ended up taking four
wickets. Meanwhile, to introduce Rubel in the 49th over was another risky
decision. But Rubel didn’t let Mash down and ended up taking Afghanistan’s
eighth wicket to take Bangladesh closer to a stunning victory.
Lastly, Mash rotated his bowling options intelligently.
Especially, his utilisation of Shakib was brilliant. Shakib’s impeccable line
and length were tough to counter and it not only helped in building pressure
but fetching important wickets as well. With Rubel and Taskin leaking runs
thick and fast, Mash realized the value of using Shakib in the right moments
rather than bowling out his overs.
When Mash struck first in the first ten overs, he introduced
Shakib immediately to utilise the momentum.
Shakib grabbed a wicket. Then, when it was needed to disturb the rhythm
of Afghanistan, Shakib was brought on to bowl to trigger a breakthrough in the
41st over and when it was needed to make Afghanistan’s task difficult in the
slog overs, Mashrafe engaged Shakib in the 47th over where he leaked just one
run and kept Bangladesh’ chances alive.
One thing can be expected, Bangladesh will get better and
better after this match. Yes, there were gray areas in the batting and
fielding, but I am sure Mash and Chandika Hathurusingha will rectify those as
early as possible.
Note: This article has been published at Sportskeeda on 26/09/2016 The tale of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's brilliant captaincy in the first ODI against Afghanistan
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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