Bangladesh win Tri-series Trophy in Ireland on Friday, May 17, 2019. Photo: AFP Mosaddek's unbeaten 52 runs off 24 balls, which included five sixes and two amazing fours, and a cheery 41-ball 66 by Soumya have helped Banglasdesh to a five-wicket win over West Indies in the rain-marred final of the 2019 Ireland Tri-Nation Series on Friday in Ireland. Bangladeshis are agog with thrills with this first-ever win in ODI tournament.
It was opener Soumya Sarkar who provided the textbook platform. Such a victory was a much-needed confidence booster for Bangladesh before the 2019 Cricket World Cup , scheduled to be hosted by England and Wales, from 30 May 30 to July 14, 2019.
West Indies bagged a total of 152 runs for 1 wicket in a fight that was reduced to 24 overs due to rain, with Bangladesh needing 210 for victory as per Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method (DLS) revision of the target.
Riding on the two half-centuries from the opener and the number seven batsman, the Tigers reached the target with seven deliveries to spare to end the tri-series unbeaten. What a finish!
It was Soumya Sarkar who set the tone for the chase by his art of finding holes in the fence that was poised to finish him. He was the man who amazingly maintained his cool. Nothing in cricket gives a batsman so much advantage over his foes as to remain cool and unruffled under tremendous pressure. He managed his mood and maintained his magical balance.
Having started with a couple of fours off Ashley Nurse in the opening over, the 26-year old left-hander Soumya preferred the pace on the ball as he took the attack to Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach, powering Bangladesh past 50 by the time the fifth over was completed. Tamim Iqbal, who was happy to feed Soumya most of the strikes, hit two boundaries off Gabriel. But the bowler had the last laugh in the contest and accounted for Sabbir Rahman in the same over.
The quick wickets did not frighten Soumya, who found a gifted partner in Mushfiqur Rahim as they built a brusque 49-run stand to keep Bangladesh on track in the chase. But West Indies added trickeries to what was appearing to be a one-way traffic through quick wickets as they clawed back into the game. Change of pace did the trick for Raymon Reifer, who got Soumya to miscue an attempted big hit before trapping Rahim in front. With Fabian Allen getting Mohammad Mithun out with a slider, Bangladesh were in a spot of bother having lost three wickets for the addition of only 24 runs. The hearts of Bangladeshis were throbbing in trepidation.
Then came Mosaddek. With a six apiece off Jason Holder and Roach, Mosaddek brought the equation down to 27 off the last three overs. And, then came the over which pretty much sealed the game in favour of Tigers.
Mosaddek hit three sixes and a four runs off Allen in the 22nd, which yielded 25 runs, and also brought up a 20-ball fifty in the process, before Mahmudullah struck the winning boundary.
Asked earlier to bat first, West Indies had a good start courtesy their openers who were in a steady partnership to give their team a solid platform. Although they had managed only 15 off the first five overs, a 13-run over by Saifuddin in the sixth helped the Caribbean side get a move on with their scoring rate.
So, the Tigers, at last, secured a dazzling five-wicket win over West Indies and their maiden tri-nation series title in Malahide, Dublin on Friday.
It was undoubtedly the team effort of our cricketers that brought smiles on our faces. It is the team, we all know, that always plays to win.
Now is the time, before we enter the field with a thirst to touching the International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy, that however smart and experienced we are, we must read the mindset of the batsman and the bowler and their body languages if we must win. Bowling is tough. But, tougher is the job of a batsman. You are a lonely batsman facing a bowler supported by ten fieldsmen and observed by two umpires. And you must read the angles of the bowler's wrist, the pace of his run and the positions of the fielders who are out there like giant sharks to gulp you.
Cricket has become a game like chess and the era of playing aggressive cricket seems to have passed. It is more like a psychological warfare now. Unless we take cricket as a religion, victory would be elusive. Theorists with technical sermons baffling the players sometimes ruin the cricket because cricket is an intricate art form of war substitutes that requires more analysis on the game of the day than all the technical and theoretical know-how.
Let the Tigers look at themselves and analyse their individual inner strength. Let them brighten up on their own!
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