There were no two views on the fact that any target on this pitch was not safe. May be taking confidence from this fact, Bangladesh thought that they would be better off chasing the target. So they put in Scotland to bat. It eventually was proved right. Scotland scored 318 in its 50 overs but at the end of the match they would have thought that they were at least 20-30 runs short. Bangladesh did them no good with the way they bowled and fielded. May be they had made the self assessment of their bowling and fielding and felt that it would be a risk defending a score.
Having said that the credit goes to the Scotland team. Having lost the match the way they did against Afghanistan, to come out and play the way they did requires tremendous courage. After being put into bat, they were expected to put a big total on the board. Scotland batsmen seemed determined to do that. They were not bogged down by the fact that they were facing a test nation. Neither they were bogged down by the spin heavy attack of Bangladesh. In spite of losing two wickets early, Coetzer and Machan batted with purpose and determination. Later Coetzer and skipper Mommsen stitched in a 141 runs partnership for the 4th wicket at a run rate of 7.5 and at that stage, 300 seemed very possible.
By no means 318 was a bad score, but they were finally found short by at least 20 runs. It is not that they could not have made those additional runs. A few moments pegged them back. Coetzer's wicket was one such moment. The other moment was in the 49th over when Cross hit a low full toss from Taskin straight on the hands of Berrington at the non-striker end. That was hit hard and definitely would have affected his grip. Before that Berrington was batting with aggression and ease but post that injury he lost his momentum. The very next ball, he was dismissed. In the same over Cross was also dismissed. The dismissal of Berrington and Cross was crucial, together they had added 39 runs in just 3.5 overs. If they had been there together for 10 more balls, easily another 15-20 runs could have been added. But we cannot take anything away from the Scots. They batted their heart out to reach this score.
Even if their performance is seen in isolation, it is an exceptional performance. But if you look at the background under which they were playing this match will make their performance even more creditable. Scotland has never won a world cup match in the three appearances that they have made in the world cups so far. They came very close in their last match against Afghanistan. The next two teams that they meet this world cup are Sri Lanka and Australia. So, their realistic chance to win was today. Thus they put in all that they could to reach that milestone.
A few statistics will help us understand the effort that they had put in. Kyle Coetzer's score 156 is the highest World Cup score by any batsman from a current non-Test nation. It is also the only 150+ score. His partnership with Preston Mommsen of 141 is the highest for Scotland in a World Cup match. It is also their first 100-plus stand for any wicket in a World Cup match. 318 Scotland's total, is their highest in World Cups. They knew that it is these kind of performances that were needed and they would have been happy to execute that.
As the Scotland did in batting, they put in their heart and soul into bowling and fielding but it was not good enough. Their bowling lacked penetrations and their fielding lacked sharpness. They missed couple of run out chances. They struggled to break partnerships. Bangladesh's regular opener Anamul Haque was also not available due to the shoulder injury, so that meant Bangladesh were one batsman less. Bangladesh batsmen gifted their wickets on more than one occasion but Scotland failed to take advantage of these moments.
There was a moment in the match when Mushfiqur Rahim got out in the 38th over when Bangladesh required 72 off 72 balls. A couple of wickets post that, could have brought Scotland back in the game. But Scotland simply could not take wickets. The bowlers did not have the pace to trouble the Bangladeshis. Apart from Majid Haq, the other spinners could not put any sort of brake on Bangladesh innings. Bangladesh batsmen made the most of the situation with Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan all making 50+ score.
Bangladesh have kept themselves in the race to the knockouts with this win. Now they just need one more win from their two matches. One of them is against England, which is a must win match for England. For Scotland, the wait for a win in world cup continues.
No comments:
Post a Comment