Matches always feel like football penalties. Afghanistan is not far behind Bangladesh in the power of cricket right now, yet when Bangladesh and Afghanistan face each other, it is probably every Bangladeshi supporter who thinks that Bangladesh will win. It’s okay to win in the end, but to lose? Noise around – Bangladesh could not defeat Afghanistan!
It’s like a penalty in football! No one remembers the goal. Defeat if you miss. Lionel Messi can explain the feeling well. Did PSG’s Argentine forward fail to score in the Champions League penalty against Real Madrid a few days ago?
Bangladesh did not have to be ‘Messi’ today. Afghanistan won on penalties in the end. But the story he wrote is a whole anecdote. Or a fairy tale!
Prothom Alo Online From the beginning of the match, it was the responsibility of the team to comment directly on almost every ball. The experience gained while performing the duty has given the opportunity to blend well with the story of each episode of the fairy tale, each moment of the match painted in different colors. Just as the joy of wickets in the bowling of Mostafiz-Shariful has touched my mind, so has the frustration in the batting of Tamim-Liton-Mushfiq-Sakib. Ever since বা or just about this match, the question has arisen as to the accuracy of the rumors.
Tamim-Liton-Mushfiqur-Sakib’s batting has also been frustrated
Tamim-Liton-Mushfiqur-Sakib’s batting has also been frustratedPhoto: Shamsul Haque
Although not dazzling, when Afif Hossain and Mehedi Hasan Miraj won the toss and elected to bat, it seemed that the experience was not bad at the end of the day.
According to Cricinfo, the average score of the team batting first in the last five matches at this ground in Chittagong is 263. In comparison, after Mostafiz-Shariful-Miraj stopped Afghanistan by 215 runs, there was not much doubt about the victory of Bangladesh. But the possibility of victory seemed to disappear from the minds of only five overs! Kupokat Tamim-Mushfiqs in front of an unknown young man named Fazal Haque Farooqi.
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After a while, when the team’s score went up to 45, when Mahmudullah-Sakib also came back, it seemed as if the words Bangladesh and Joy were taken in the same sentence as ‘crime’. Win? The big question is whether Bangladesh will be able to cross 100!
Prothom Alo was telling the declining number of readers interested in live commentary online that even the cricket fans of this country have washed their hands of the hope of Bangladesh winning this match. It seemed that there was no point in commenting on this match!
Bangladesh has to be a big pair in a run out, a Bhuloman shot or a little aggression has mixed in all the dust … there are many such examples!
Afif came to the scene and started playing instinctive shots. Miraj came and accompanied him. The pair began to stand. But it was still difficult to talk about victory. What victory? The next three ‘batsmen’ Shariful, Taskin, Mostafiz are basically bowlers, Miraj-Afif is out if any one of them is out! Bangladesh’s score was 100 parole, after a while the gap with victory dropped below 100, but the pronunciation of the word victory seemed awkward.
No need – or why! Bangladesh has to be a big pair in a run out, a Bhuloman shot or a little aggression has mixed in all the dust … there are many such examples!
On the other side of the aisle was the Afif-Miraj pairing. 100 in the pair, two half-centuries. Earlier, Mirage, who scored a career-high 51 in ODIs, played the highest run-scoring innings of his career, scoring his first half-century in the eighth match. There was hope in my mind, but it could not be expressed in commentary. There was also that fear on the back of hope. It is a matter of a ball and a wicket! If you say something of hope, then it becomes a boomerang!
The innings is going towards 40 overs. Subconsciously or consciously, the mind is just calculating, Rashid has three more overs, Farooqi has three, Mujib has two overs left. Nah, yet fear and possibility are equal. But yes, now the possibility can be said a little bit. But remember the fear!
In the end, the story is about Afif-Miraj
In the end, the story is about Afif-Miraj
The number of readers in the direct commentary of Prothom Alo is also increasing then. The scent of victory has begun to take over the nose!
In the meantime, the manner in which Afif and Miraj were taking the responsibility of the aggression in turn has caught my eye. Afif, who had earlier taken charge of the aggression, handed over the baton to Miraj after his half-century. Maybe it was a plan to save energy. Maybe a bowler-based battle plan. Before and after the 40th over, Miraj hit as many boundaries as Afif was playing in one or two overs. Baton Afif again in 43-44 overs.
After scoring 200 runs in Bangladesh’s innings, the belief has been strengthened that no, now we can talk loudly about Bangladesh’s victory. Even if one of the Miraj-Afifs is out, the other will be able to finish the job with the Mostafiz-Taskins — this belief was then strengthened. Joy that 18 runs away!
If not, just think, if Bangladesh would have won by 4 wickets after chasing 215 runs against Afghanistan, but 6 wickets would have fallen by 180-190 runs, who would have bothered with this victory!
If not, just think, if Bangladesh would have won by 4 wickets after chasing 215 runs against Afghanistan, but 6 wickets would have fallen by 180-190 runs, who would have bothered with this victory!Photo: Shamsul Haque
Mostafiz did not need to come down. After losing 6 wickets for 45 runs, even after the match of Bangladesh, 7-E was written in the wicket box. 218 runs were needed in the run chase, when Afif’s four became 219, there were still 6 balls left.
Maybe taking 8 wickets for 45 runs has been good for Bangladesh. Nah, there was no question about batting. However, there are coaches to find the answer to Sesab, now Jamie Siddons is back. However, with 6 wickets for 45 runs, perhaps this victory against Afghanistan is getting the status of an epic.
If not, just think, if Bangladesh would have won by 4 wickets after chasing 215 runs against Afghanistan, but 6 wickets would have fallen by 180-190 runs, who would have bothered with this victory! On the contrary, some of them must have said that it takes a lot of sweat to lose Afghanistan!