Asia Cup 2023 Update!! In a game which had little consequence on the grandeur scale of things as far as the Asia Cup is concerned, Bangladesh edged past India by 6 runs to end their disappointing campaign on a high. After being put in to bat first, Bangladesh posted a competitive 265 with contributions from Shakib Al Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, and Towhid Hridoy.
In reply, India battled hard with a gritty century from Shubman Gill and a brisk cameo down the order from Axar Patel. But it wasn’t enough as India fell a hit short of the target.
Here are the talking points from the Asia Cup 2023, Super 4s’ game between the two sides-
1. Bangladesh batting finally steps up in Asia Cup 2023
Throughout the Asia Cup, bar the Afghanistan game, the Bangladesh batting order has flattered to deceive. They lose wickets in a heap, put one partnership which seems to steady the ship, and then once again lose wickets in clusters. And when Shakib was dismissed for 80 with the score reading 162/6, it felt like another collapse was waiting to happen.
Image Credits: Samaa TV
Except it didn’t. The likes of Towhid Hridoy, Nasum Ahmed, and even Mahedi Hasan played their parts with the bat to perfection, capitalising on the last 10 overs with some aggressive batting and good running between the wickets to post a challenging total on the board. With the World Cup less than 3 weeks away, this was a much improved showing with the bat for the Bangla tigers.
2. Suryakumar Yadav fluffs another chance
With the likes of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya rested with one eye on the final, this was Suryakumar Yadav’s best opportunity to make the full use of this chance that was afforded to him. And he began things like he meant business, with a smashing sweep shot off the first ball he faced. But that was as good as it got for him.
Image Credits: India Today
The 33-year-old never really felt comfortable during the course of his 34-ball stay in the middle. He got very lucky with a couple of deliveries which were darted at him after the Bangladesh spinners noted his propensity to continue playing the sweep shot. He was finally dismissed by playing one sweep too many by the wily Shakib, who bowled an extra over for the very same reason. This was another start wasted by the Mumbai batter, and time is quickly running out for him to stake a claim in that spot for the starting 11 come October 8.
3. Gill’s mature knock
While wickets were falling from one end and the other batters unable to come with any meaningful answers to the questions posed by the Bangladeshi spin quartet, Shubman Gill played in a league of his own and it felt like he was playing on an entirely different pitch altogether.
The scorecard will show that Gill scored 121 in 133 balls, but it was a brilliantly composed knock which had an equal dose of caution as well as aggression. He kept one end by constantly milking the bowlers around for singles and twos, while chancing his arm at every opportunity he got. This was his slowest century among the ones he’s made in ODIs so far, but it was the best among the lot. Unfortunately it did not get the victory that it deserved.
Image Credits: Free Press Journal
4. Axar Patel: Valuable with the bat, suspect with the ball
Once again, we saw two sides of Axar Patel in this game. With the ball, he was more miss than hit, with him once again struggling to find the perfect line or length to bowl at the Bangladesh batsman. Going at close to 5.5 runs an over is not the best of outcomes for someone who is primarily in the squad for his bowling qualities.
Image Credits: Cricket Addictor
However, Axar Patel the batsman has been every bit worth his salt. There has been a massive improvement in his batting ability in the past 12 months and he once again showed that. He played the situation perfectly and got the boundaries just when it felt like Bangladesh were going to run away with it in the end. Had he stayed on, it would have been an entirely different outcome on the game as well. At this point in time, Axar the batter is miles ahead than Axar the bowler. The question remains: does India need Axar the batter?
5. Fringe players’ practice run in Asia Cup 2023
With the game basically having zero significance on the fortunes of both sides, both teams rang in the changes with the bigger picture in mind. For India, the likes of Mohammed Shami, Suryakumar Yadav, and Axar Patel all got an extended run in the middle, while Shardul Thakur bowled his full quota of 10 overs for the first time in quite some time. And while the result was not the one they wanted, the Indian side gave a good account of themselves batting under lights in challenging conditions, which was a commendable effort in itself.
Image Credits: English Jagran
As for Bangladesh, they put out new faces in the form of Tanzim Hasan who made his debut, and Mahedi Hasan (not to be confused with Mehidy Hasan Miraz), and both of them acquitted themselves well. While Tanzim bowled a brilliant first spell where he accounted for Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varna with some high quality pace and swing bowling, Mahedi not only bowled extremely well with his offspin, but made a vital contribution with the bat as well towards the fag end of the innings.
Fair to say it was a good workout for all concerned.
T20gullycricket.com
7 Oct 2023India is always remain reluctant to introduce new face in International cricket. BCCI should give Chances to new Players. who knows the hidden Gem.