Bangladesh display improvement in T20I batting but bowling remains a concern

Bangladesh have now lost 19 out of their last 21 T20Is against full members and it is not a pleasant statistic if you are an ardent fan of Bangladesh cricket.

Moreover, they have lost all of their four matches in the ongoing tri-nation series in New Zealand but their final outing against Pakistan will help the Tigers see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. 

They, however, put on a much-improved batting performance against Pakistan, scoring 173 for six which not only was their highest total in the series but also their best effort in New Zealand in the T20I format. But the most important thing is that they ticked almost all the right boxes ahead of the T20 World Cup as far as batting is concerned.

Against Pakistan in their first game in the tri-series, Bangladesh fell 21 runs short and the stand-in captain Nurul Hasan called for an improved performance with the bat in the middle overs (7-15). 

In that match, Bangladesh scored 63 runs in the middle overs which means the run rate was only seven an over. The required run rate at the end of the powerplay was above nine per over and a below-par performance in the middle phase from Bangladesh potentially sealed the game for Pakistan as the Tigers were left with too many to score in the slog overs.

Bangladesh solved that "middle overs problem" in their second outing against Pakistan, going at about ten an over. Despite a sluggish start in the powerplay, Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan struck five fours and a six - a total of nine boundaries - in those nine overs and ran well between the wickets despite the former struggling a bit because of cramps. They cut down the dot ball percentage as well and managed 88 runs from the middle overs which was quite a remarkable improvement. 

Shakib, after the second match of the series, said, "Two batters from the top four need to put their hands up and bat till 15-16 overs." That's exactly what happened against Pakistan on Thursday with Shakib being one of those two batters. The southpaw was in good form, having scored 70 in the previous match against New Zealand. Against Pakistan too, he displayed superb placement and timing and at times his gap-finding was extraordinary, to say the least. 

Shakib's overall T20 numbers as a batter are not awe-inspiring, with a strike rate in the early 120s. But this year, it has been 140.5 so far across all T20s and remarkably he has hit 28 sixes this year in 27 innings despite not being known as a six-hitter.

Litton Das stitched a brilliant 88-run stand with Shakib for the third wicket and played only nine dot balls in his 42-ball-69. Now, a big innings from Litton was long overdue given his calibre. He had only two fifties in this format in the last 28 innings. He got starts in three of his last five innings prior to this match but couldn't play for a longer period. There have been debates about whether Litton should open or stay at number three but this innings will work as a massive confidence booster for the flamboyant batter ahead of the World Cup.

Litton got out in the 15th over, giving the team a great platform to launch in the final five overs, exactly what Shakib asked for a couple of matches ago.

The opening combination still remains a worry, and so does the form of Afif Hossain. But they will have two more chances in the warm-up matches against Afghanistan and South Africa to correct the errors. 

"It's been difficult, but I thought we played our best cricket today. [We] could have scored a few more runs in the end, but such things do happen. We played well in the middle overs which we were lacking, it's up to us to perform well in the upcoming World Cup," Shakib told the broadcasters after the match. 

The bowling, though, is still a cause of concern and Bangladesh are yet to find the right pace combination. They left out Mustafizur Rahman in the last two games and tried out Ebadot Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin but none of them returned great figures. Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud had a couple of good games and should be starters in the World Cup. 

Shakib Al Hasan was the lone spinner in the last two games and his returns were not satisfactory either. The all-rounder admitted it and stated that he would like to put on better performances with the ball.

"We are very clear on the team we'll play in the World Cup, so that's good. My job is to score runs for the team, the bowling is not up to the mark though, that's one area I would like to improve. We have improved a lot through the tournament and that's something positive for us," he mentioned. 

Bangladesh will play Afghanistan and South Africa in their official warm-up matches on 17 and 19 October respectively before starting their World Cup campaign on the 24th.