Bangladesh: Player form guide

Bangladesh produced a win in its first World Cup hit-out on Wednesday, but the inconsistent performance against Afghanistan has left their players with plenty of work to do before Saturday’s encounter with Australia.

A slow start saw the top order well held by Afghanistan’s bowling attack, before star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim led the recovery.

Bangladesh’s frontline bowlers were excellent early with a scintillating opening spell but their fielding let them down at times, including a dropped catch from the usually reliable Shakib.

Bangladesh headed into the tournament having played just three warm-up matches in 2015, though their last ODI series was a home-based five-nil thumping of Zimbabwe in November.

ANAMUL HAQUE

Made a start – albeit a slow one – against Afghanistan but was unable to go on with it before being caught lbw for 29 off 55. The Bangladesh opening pair both struggled to get the innings moving against the fast bowling of Hamid Hassan and Dawlat Zadran and when Anamul was dismissed with the score at 2-52, the run rate was just 3.17 an over. Anamul scored two fifties against Zimbabwe in November – 95 and 80 – but failed to get a start in the other three matches, dismissed for 5, 8 and 12.

TAMIM IQBAL

Like his opening partner, Tamim played a subdued innings against the Afghans, managing 19 off 42 before edging one to wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai. He played two nice shots for four but otherwise struggled to get going. Tamim scored 76 in the second match of the Zimbabwe series in November, but his other scores for the series were 5, 40, 16 and 10.

SOUMYA SARKAR

The newcomer showed glimpses of class in his 28 off 25 and attempted to give the Bangladesh run rate the kick-start it needed, but like Anamul and Tamim was unable to carry on with his innings. His big shot over mid-wicket for six off the bowling of Mirwais Ashraf was the highlight before he was trapped in front. Soumya was playing just his second ODI, after debuting late last year against Zimbabwe. His previous ODI score was 20 off 18.

MOHAMMAD MAHMUDULLAH

Again, a slow start made without a significant score. Mahmudullah did not reach the boundary once in his innings and only managed a strike rate of 50 in his 23 off 46. It was an uncharacteristic performance from the reliable batsman, who finished the series against Zimbabwe in good form. After a quiet start (1 and 12) he scored 33*, 82* and 51* in the final three matches. An off-spinner, Mahmudullah also bowled eight overs against Afghanistan on Wednesday, collecting 1-31. 

SHAKIB AL HASAN

When Shakib strode to the crease, the score was 3-102 and the runs were coming at four an over. But together with ‘keeper Mushfiqur, Shakib transformed the Bangladesh innings. His innings of 63 came off 51 balls and he was a class above, finding the boundary six times and slogging Hamid Hassan for six. He was Bangladesh’s most expensive with the ball, hit for 43 off 8.5 overs, but collected two wickets. Bangladesh’s brightest star scored a run-a-ball century in the first ODI against Zimbabwe in November, but struggled to score runs through the remainder of the series. His form with the ball was better and he picked up 11 wickets in five matches including 4-41.

MUSHFIQUR RAHIM

The wicketkeeper was named man of the match for his performance with the bat and rightly so. His partnership with Shakib was a match-winning one as the pair added 114 in 15.3 overs. Mushfiqur worked the ball well, finding gaps his teammates could not and he reached his fifty off 40 balls. It was a continuation of his good form during the Zimbabwe series which included scores of 65 and 77.

SABBIR RAHMAN

The batting allrounder made little impact with the bat, scoring three runs off eight balls before being bowled by Hamid Hassan. A leg-spinner, he bowled just the one over in Canberra, going for four runs. He made his debut in the first match of the Zimbabwe series and his best knock was in that first match when he scored an unbeaten 44. The remainder of the series was not as productive for Sabbir, with scores of 0, 22, 4, 13*.

MASHRAFE MORTAZA

The skipper’s late cameo with the bat (14 off 9) provided useful runs for Bangladesh, before his brutal opening spell rattled the Afghanistan upper order. Mashrafe finished with 3-20 off 9, an economy rate of 2.22, 43 dot balls and the key wickets of Javed Ahmadi, Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi. In November, he collected nine wickets in five matches against Zimbabwe.

MOMINUL HAQUE

Mominul scored three before being run out chasing late runs. The 23-year-old played three matches during the November ODI series, scoring 31, 33* and 15, and was well down the order for a man with four Test hundreds to his name in just 12 matches.

RUBEL HOSSAIN

The opening bowler snared the wicket of Afsar Zazai in the second oval and finished with figures of 1-27 off six. With Mashrafe, he set the platform for Bangladesh’s convincing win. He played four matches during the Zimbabwe series, failing to take a wicket in the first two matches before snaring four in the final two.

TASKIN AHMED

The paceman took one wicket from his seven overs, that of No.10 Hamid Hassan, but was another important cog in the bowling attack that never allowed Afghanistan into the run chase. The match against Afghanistan was Taskin’s first ODI since August last year but he took 2-41 and 1-48 in warm-up matches against Pakistan and Ireland.