Bangladesh won the toss, chose to bat, Billy Bowden started the wicket-taking and Mohammad Ashraful provided a succinct exclamation point to the morning session. If you ever wanted to know who Ashraful is, this innings of his would be the perfect example. A large dose of dash, a healthy sprinkling of pizazz, and moments of luck are all capped by a final virtuoso act of maddening stupidity. Career-defining (and career-ending?) moments don't come with more clarity than this. What a dolt!
The opposite end of the temperamental spectrum is inhabited by Mohammad Mahmudullah Riyad. Mahmudullah's innings was characterized by his composed manner and calm demeanor and never did it seem like he was overextending the boundaries of his skill set. Coming in at 106 for 6, he then made 96 of the remaining 127 runs scored while playing with 9,10, and Jack.
Mahmudullah knows how to farm the strike. Here's one of those times when statistics do tell the entire tale: From over number 38 to 73, Mahmudullah was batting with 9,10, and 11. In those overs he consciously tried to take a single only from the 4th ball onwards in order to protect the tailenders (in the first three balls of the over he either tried to hit boundaries or refused easy singles). In 22 of those overs he was able to accomplish it, against just 6 times when the Indians were able to prevent him from doing so. (The remaining overs came when the other batsman faced the first ball of the new over). Think about that. In the company of the tailenders he batted as many overs as the top 6 batsmen had done combined.
Bangladesh has the makings of a competitive Test team. Taking potential into account, they have a good opener in Tamim Iqbal, a great all-rounder in Shakib Al Hasan, a fine wicketkeeper in Mushfiqur Rahim and a good middle-order batsman in Mahmudullah. What they need is some mettle and the mentality to want to win games rather than being happy with drawing them.
By wasting the first use of the wicket and the advantage of the toss they have handed all the initiative back to India. If India bats two entire days (that's 160-180 overs, depending upon the light, and anywhere in the region of 550-650 runs), Bangladesh will have to survive for 2 whole days just to save the Test. I don't see it happening.
The Test series will be remembered for long by Bangladeshis for its what-if moments. What if certain things had panned out differently? For me, the biggest what-if is this: What if Mohammad Ashraful had not gotten carried away by the ease with which he was getting boundaries?
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