Saturday, August 13, 2011

Bangladesh desperate for turnaround

Having had a pretty dis-satisfactory tour so far, hurt Bangladesh aim for a comeback as they take on Zimbabwe in the second ODI at Harare.

Harare has not been the friendliest of grounds for Bangladesh. They came into this tour proclaiming themselves as favourites and in a matter of 6 days, would themselves be thinking about their statement. The batsmen have failed to adjust to the bounce and pace on the pitch while the bowling has not learnt from its mistakes.

They have underperformed so far, with the batting relying heavily on Tamim Iqbal to fire. His failure has not quite allowed the middle order to settle and apart from Shakib Al Hasan, no one has looked promising. As far as the bowling is concerned, the pacers have not been impressive at all but what has hurt them the most is that their spinners have found any purchase.

It has been a smart preparation of the track by the hosts as they have not given much purchase for the spinners.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have done wonderfully in this tour. They impressed in the Test and did well in the first ODI too. The batting has performed superbly and the openers have been the key.

But the bowling is what is doing the talking rounds. It has not been the experienced players who are taking wickets but the debutants. Brian Vitori did well in the Test and has surprised the batsmen with his pace and bounce in the first ODI as well.

The Castrol Index gives Bangladesh a value of 124 while Zimbabwe are only on 99.

Though, the performance so far, indicates otherwise.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Zimbabwe look for continuation of good form as Bangladesh aim to bounce back

Having surprised the world with a stunning win over Bangladesh in the one-off Test, Zimbabwe now look forward for the ODI series which kick starts at Harare.

Due to the loss of quality players and not enough bench strength, Zimbabwe had decided to take a permanent retirement from Test cricket. They were still playing limited overs cricket, but they have been far and few between. However, from what transpired in the Test series, the prospect looks really good.

Talking about the batting, Brendan Taylor is in as good a form as ever and he has shown what a great asset he is to the side. The Test saw some consistent scores from the batsmen but the only thing they need to learn is the art of carrying forward the starts. The most impressive were the bowlers and that too, two debutantes, Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis.

Both the rookies have got a good build and height and could trouble many a good batsmen and they consistently had the Bangladeshis hopping. Spin seems to be Zimbabwe’s weak point though, as there is no one to support Ray Price.

Bangladesh started as favourites to win the Test and the ODIs but having seen their performance at Harare, one might have to reserve predictions. On paper, they are a superior side but they failed to perform as they could not adapt to the conditions. The bowlers bowled the wrong lines and spin, which has been their strength, could not put the pressure on the batsmen.

Vitori and Jarvis took the batsmen by surprise and they were defeated by the extra bounce. Skipper Shakib has a lot to work upon as the ODI series gets underway. Unlike the hosts, his side is known for producing spinners and not real quickies but Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain have done well in the past while Robiul Islam bowled well in patches in the Test.

The last time the Bangladeshis toured Zimbabwe, the visitors won the series 4-1. This time around, they might have to work much harder if they have to finish on the winning side of the margin.

The Castrol Index sees Bangladesh on 143 points while Zimbabwe are way behind on 101.

However, things are not what they look like and we might get more than what we expect in this series. Expect a humdinger.