Ravenous Rubel

For most of the Bangladesh team, the World Cup warm-up game against Pakistan being washed out in Cardiff yesterday was not a big setback, but for two cricketers it was an opportunity missed to stake a claim for a spot in the playing eleven when the Tigers square off against South Africa in their World Cup opener on June 2.

It was a twist of fate that the team management decided to send those two players to the mixed media zone to have a few words with reporters soon after the match was abandoned. Mosaddek Hossain grabbed his place in the spotlight by hitting an unbeaten 24-ball 52 in the tri-series final against West Indies in Dublin on May 17, the day the Tigers won their maiden ODI multi-team trophy. In that rain-curtailed final, he performed the role that is expected of Sabbir Rahman, who after scoring his maiden international century in the third ODI in New Zealand did not get enough opportunities to prove his worth in Ireland.

"Today's match was important for me," Sabbir, who played a grand total of 10 balls over four matches in Ireland, said. "Now the next match [the second warm-up against India on Tuesday] is important. It is disappointing that the match did not take place, but the team is in good shape, as am I. I am practising on wickets that are similar to the ones that the matches will be played on."

He could, however, not be drawn into commenting on the possible competition with Mosaddek. "I have always played in hard situations, taking up the challenge. This time too it won't be easy, but I will try to do what I must do and give my best. I always feel that it is my last match, and I try to give my all from that mindset."

Mosaddek, who was one of the surprise inclusions in the World Cup squad, said that it was not about competing with Sabbir.

"I am not thinking about it that way," he said. "I will try my best, but I don't want to come into the team because someone else did poorly. The Bangladesh team comes first. If I get my chance I will try to do well.

"We are coming off a good series in Ireland, so one match not taking place because of rain is not too disappointing. Today I didn't get the chance, but there is a match against India and in that game we will prepare well and head to the World Cup."

As things stand with Mahmudullah Riyad's shoulder injury, Mosaddek has as good a chance as Sabbir of making the cut in order to bowl a few useful overs of off-spin. "These conditions are difficult for spinners because there is not much turn on offer. But I will try to minimise runs and keep the batsmen in check.

With arguably the two most important cricketers in Bangladesh – Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal – ruled out by the time they faced Pakistan in a do-or-die Asia Cup game on Wednesday, Bangladesh drew on wartime philosophy to emerge victorious against the odds.

"[Skipper] Mashrafe [Bin Mortaza] bhai told us one thing and we talked about one thing: when at war, you don't look back," said player-of-the-match Mushfiqur Rahim after the 37-run win over the two-time champions at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. "So if you think 'I am going to war and I will try to play it safe', that won't work. 

"Either kill or be killed -- one or the other. So that was a huge inspiration, because when you are at war you don't look at who your captain is, who's there or not there."

Mushfiqur was at the centre of the conflict, rescuing the side from the precarious position of 12 for three after Bangladesh won the toss and lifting them to 239 all out with a magnificent 99, becoming the first Bangladesh batsman to be out one short of a century in international cricket.

Bangladesh's highest run-scorer Tamim had already gone back to Dhaka on September 18 with a left-hand fracture sustained in the tournament's opening game against Sri Lanka. Shakib, meanwhile, was ruled out of the match because of a flare-up of a lingering finger injury picked up in January this year. He was subsequently sent home and will undergo surgery in either Melbourne or New York in the near future. 

But the calamitous setbacks only brought out the warriors in the Tigers.  

"You have to fight 100 per cent with what you have. So we thought that if we give our 100 per cent without thinking about the result, then, God willing, we will win as the best team. There will come a time when I won't be there -- no one is there forever. The five of us [seniors Mashrafe, Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah Riyad] will not be there at one point but even then you have to go on. So this was the talk and everyone was pumped up from there." 

The target was just 223 for the vaunted Indian batting that has struck fear in the hearts of bowling line-ups the world over, but that it took them till the last ball of the 50th over to complete a three-wicket win in the Asia Cup final spoke volumes of the heart Bangladesh have shown throughout the tournament.

However, as the fireworks clouded the clear night sky at the Dubai International Stadium last night, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza would possibly have been wondering what could have been had they batted out 50 overs for just the second time in the tournament, or if they had capitalised on the 120-run opening stand provided by centurion Liton Das and unlikely opener Mehedi Hasan Miraz.

They fought till the end, even when just 18 were needed off four overs with five wickets in hand and then 13 off 18 balls. Rubel Hossain, who bowled brilliantly throughout for figures of 26 for two from 10 overs, had Ravindra Jadeja caught behind in the 48th over which cost just four runs. Mustafizur Rahman bowled another brilliant penultimate over that saw the back of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and conceded just three. With six needed off the last over, part-timer Mahmudullah Riyad bowled intelligently -- bowling the penultimate ball from behind the crease to confuse tailender Kuldeep Yadav -- and brought the equation down to a single needed off the last ball. But Kedar Jadhav, who had to leave the field with cramps and came back to resume batting after Jadeja's exit, managed to get bad on a full delivery and it trickled down to fine leg for the all-important single to be completed.

Hampered by the absences of stalwarts Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh showed outstanding spirit in fighting against all odds. In that the final was an apt one because they had done that throughout the tournament, adapting to setbacks and still finding a way to go past a feisty Afghanistan and a more-fancied Pakistan to make it to the final clash, but the wear and tear of an emotionally and physically exhausting tournament eventually manifested in the form of a batting failure at the most inopportune moment. They were left to rue another heartbreak in the Asia Cup final after falling at the last hurdle against Pakistan in 2012 and India in 2016.

Despite the batting implosion after their brightest start of the tournament, it was a bowling effort that Bangladesh can be proud of as they seemed out of the game on numerous occasions but clawed their way back each time.

Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan had shot to 35 within five overs, but Nazmul Islam had the latter caught at mid off. Skipper Mashrafe then produced a beautiful away swinger to have Ambati Rayudu caught behind. Rubel hounded Sharma, giving him no room with balls that jagged back in till the Indian captain grew frustrated and hit him to square leg to be out for 47 and bring Bangladesh back into the match at 83 for three in the 17th over.

The Tigers kept a tight leash on Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik, ensuring their 53-run stand was a slow one, coming in 14 overs, before Karthik missed a straight one from Mahmudullah and was adjudged leg-before. Mustafizur Rahman had Dhoni caught in the 37th over for a 67-ball 36 and it was truly game on when Jadhav was forced to retire hurt in the following over. However, in the end, Bangladesh's wasted opportunities with the bat would come back to haunt them.   

It had begun in ideal fashion for Bangladesh after Sharma asked them to bat first on a good wicket. If Mehedi -- a useful number eight batsman -- coming out to open disrupted India's expectations, the way Liton went after strike bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar upended their applecart.

When the elegant but mercurial right-hander jumped down the pitch and clipped Bumrah, bowling at good pace, to the square leg boundary it was a statement of intent that Mehedi received, showing his calibre with a square driven boundary in the same over. Two successive fours off Liton's bat followed in the next over from Kumar and a lofted boundary off a 140kmph-plus Bumrah delivery in the seventh over.

The leg spin of Yuzvendra Chahal was then clobbered for a six over square leg in the next over, which also saw the Bangladesh fifty coming up, without loss in a tournament that Bangladesh's openers had managed a best of 16.

Liton brought up his first ODI fifty off his 33rd ball, hitting the first ball of the 12th over from Jadeja for four. The time was right for the ill-advised shot and Liton did not disappoint, but Chahal did as he failed to latch on to Liton's skied slog sweep at mid on in the same over.

The life seemed to have chastened Liton, as he focused on playing balls along the ground from then, bringing up Bangladesh's first century opening partnership in 27 matches with an edged four in the 18th over.

However, in the 21st over with the score on 120, Mehedi departed when he cut Kuldeep Jadhav straight to cover point and that opened the floodgates. Imrul Kayes was adjudged leg-before for two in the 24th over off Chahal, a decision that stayed with the umpire's call upon review.

Mushfiqur Rahim, in supreme form, was expected to guide Liton to his century, but instead he hit a Jadhav long hop straight down deep midwicket's throat. The collapse that had so far happened at the top shifted to the middle order through a brilliant piece of fielding from Jadeja in the 28th over, when he dived to stop a well-hit cover drive from Liton and then threw at the non-striker's end, which was vacant as Mohammad Mithun was looking at Liton at hand-shaking distance at the other end.

Liton, then on 95 off 84 balls, rushed to his first international century off 87 balls in the next over with a single after hitting a swept four off Jadhav. Mahmudullah succeeded only in accompanying Liton to his century and little else as he followed fellow senior batsman Mushfiqur's example and holed out off Yadav in the 33rd over, meaning that Bangladesh had lost five wickets for 30 runs.

With the seniors having failed them, Liton and Soumya Sarkar then added 58 runs for the sixth wicket before Liton was stumped off Yadav by the finest of margins in the 41st over. The third umpire took ages to make his decision as a magnifier had to be used to determine that the part of Liton's foot that looked to be behind the line was actually not grounded, and he had to walk back for a splendid 121 off 117 balls with 12 fours and two sixes.

Mashrafe then continued the trend of seniors throwing it away as he needlessly tried to repeat a six hit off Yadav and was stumped in the 43rd over, leaving Soumya with the tail. The panic had fully set in by then as evidenced by Nazmul's run out in the 47th over. Two overs later, Soumya followed suit, failing to complete a second run and walking back with a 45-ball 33. Rubel Hossain lasted just one ball and was bowled by a Kumar yorker in the next as Bangladesh were all out with nine balls still to be played.