Bangladesh squandered a perfect start in chasing down a massive total and fell short by 14 runs in the first of four practice matches against the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) at the Gardens Oval yesterday.
The Tigers were given a target of 331 and were 212 for 2 in 33 overs before five wickets fell for 41 runs.
A brave rearguard action by Abdur Razzak (33 from 19 balls) and Forhad Reza (30 not out off 36 balls) inched Bangladesh closer but with 15 required of the last over Shahadat Hossain, the last batsman in, missed the first two deliveries before hitting one uppishly straight to mid on.
"We probably lost it when we lost all those wickets in the middle," said Tigers captain Mohammad Ashraful who made a sparkling 71 (59 balls) and shared 95 for the fourth wicket with Rokibul Hassan (34).
Both batsmen had played sensibly and had creamed the off side with AIS skipper Moises Henriques keeping an attacking field throughout. But Rokibul holed out at deep mid-wicket when he should have continued rotating the strike with low-risk options and Ashraful after an exhibition of classy strokes including a couple of spanking pulls, was bowled while trying to sweep a half volley on the stumps.
Bangladesh had started off in lambasting fashion with Tamim Iqbal bludgeoning a 45-ball 85. He played on the up, swung it around and no bowler was spared. The score went racing along as Tamim flayed new ball duo Grant Sullivan and Ben Cutting.
The left-hander took a runner in Ashraful following back spasm but still stood there and pulled and flicked sixes and fours. So dominant was he that when he went from 49 to 53 with yet another boundary, his partner at the other end Mehrab Hossain was on just seven and happily playing second fiddle.
The entertainment ended when Tamim skied one but Bangladesh were cruising at 111 for one in 14 overs.
Earlier, the AIS batsmen had shown maturity and good cricket sense as they dominated the Bangladesh bowling from the onset. With pace spearhead Mashrafe Bin Mortaza rested, Shahadat and Nazmul Hossain opened the bowling.
But they were inconsistent with line and often bowled too short or too full on a placid wicket. Shakib Al Hasan (10-1-45-1) was by far the best bowler for Bangladesh. He varied his flight and kept a stump line and displayed the importance of variation on such a flat track. For the AIS the first five in the order made 74, 55, 83, 69 and 34 and the eventual score of 330-4 was reward for that consistency. They also hit hard whenever the opportunity arose and at least three times the ball got lost.
"We have to bowl better. It's as simple as that. We were poor in that department and almost made up for that with our batting. But we need more control from the bowlers," said Ashraful.
Bangladesh also left out batsman Alok Kapali and pacer Dollar Mahmud from Monday's match besides injured Nazimuddin.
The next warm-up against the AIS is on Wednesday.
Source: thedailystar.net
