English fast bowler Liam Plunkett did the best job. So good that now when someone else is similarly successful, it is compared to Plunkett. In the last ODI of the series against Sri Lanka today, Taskin Ahmed has done exactly what Plunkett did to England to win the World Cup.
Kusal Perera’s century saw Sri Lanka score 26 for 6 in the end, but in the middle overs, the pace and bounce of their plan were haphazard. But Taskin Ahmed took 3 wickets.
The middle over means spins. This was the trend in ODI cricket until the 2015 World Cup. When the batting power play was over, the spin would be the principal weapon. In ODI cricket, reliance on spin has diminished somewhat since the rule of two balls from two ends. England then discovered that they could develop a new type of weapon for such a period in bowling. In the middle overs, we gave fast bowler Liam Plunkett the responsibility of rhythm of the batsmen. His job is to beat batters in cross-seam, bounce, and fast bowling.
The batsmen were not ready for anything like that. Batters who usually bat in the middle overs are more accustomed to playing against spin. Plunkett came in a hurry and started throwing the ball at the batsman’s head. With the ball here and there to do. This is the strategy that England used to win the middle over a battle with Plunkett. In the 2019 World Cup final, Plunkett took 3 for 42, one of which was by Kane Williamson.
Taskin Ahmed bowled in the 11th over in the last ODI against Sri Lanka today. In the first two matches of the series, captain Tamim Iqbal did not successfully use Taskin as a new ball. However, after the power play today, Taskin bowled Danushka Gunathilaka, the batsman who came to bowl and settled on the wicket. Then Pathum also caught Nissanka for jumping from a suitable length. Kusal Mendis’ innings could not last long with Taskin’s ball. Sri Lanka, flying with 6 runs in the first 10 overs, slowed down as Taskin became a ‘plunket.’
Bangladesh may consider playing the role of Plunkett in the future as well.
Alohas took a big place in the Test series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Pallekele’s wicket is extremely opposed to bringing any positive result in the match. Added to this is the lack of light. In the first Test, only light and rain were able to successfully stop the flood successfully. Obstacles of nature have also appeared in the second test. On the first day, it did not leave nature out in Sri Lanka’s run festival. But nature literally poured water on what the Bangladesh bowlers brought a moment of excitement on the second day.
In the first two sessions of the second day, the bowlers did well under the pressure of Taskin Ahmed. The Lankans lost 3 wickets for just 43 runs in the first session and lost 2 wickets in the second session. Therefore, both the sessions of the second day were occupied by Bangladesh. But the third session did not fall to anyone. Rain and low light have taken away 24 overs from the game today. Sri Lanka scored 489 runs for 8 wickets before the rain. The hosts lost 5 wickets for 18 runs on the second day. Finally, the power of the bowlers was seen in this series. However, the indications so far are that we write the draw in the fate of this test.
The ‘feud’ of Bangladeshi fielders with Taskin Ahmed was seen in the first Test. Taskin’s success in this test has been an obstacle to his teammates. Fielders are going to miss the ball repeatedly because of him. Once the ball went into the wicketkeeper’s gloves, the bowler-fielder forgot to apply! The second day would have been Taskin’s best day in Tests if it weren’t for his own fate.
Great ball from the beginning of the day. Centurion Lahiru forced Thirimanne to catch behind the wicket for an extra jump. After that, it dismissed Angelo Mathews for zero, but he did not apply for dismissal. However, after a while, Liton’s gloves stopped Mathews. Although he could not hold the power of the first session in the second session, Taskin Ahmed hit again when needed. The fifth wicket pairing became dangerous. Taskin Ahmed took the stumps of Pathum Nissankar to break the 54-run partnership.
Bangladesh could have beaten Sri Lanka by losing 2 wickets for 362 runs. But again, the fielders’ ‘butter neck hand’ became an obstacle. Nazmul Hossain, who caught Dimuth Koranaratne on the first day, caught Ramesh Mendis off Taskin Ahmed.
Niroshan Dickwella did not give a chance to Bangladesh bowlers to sit down in aggressive batting. After the tea break, Sri Lanka scored 44 runs from 59 balls before and after the rain break. Dickweller played a key role in this. Dickwella is unbeaten on 74 off 64 balls with six fours. Mendis, who got life once, was unbeaten on 22 runs.
Taskin Ahmed got 3 wickets for 119 runs. Taizul took 1 wicket off 63 balls. Mehedi Hasan Miraj and Shariful Islam got one wicket each.
Taskin Ahmed has changed himself by working hard during the last lockdown, the reflection of which is now clear on the field. Taskin, who returned to international cricket four years after his last ODI at home in the West Indies series, also bowled brilliantly in the New Zealand series. Speed, aggression has surpassed Taskin Ahmed of the past. Bowling control is uninterrupted before, but now it is continuous.
In the Test series in Sri Lanka, all the skills of Taskin seemed to blossom into one. When every bowler of the two teams was batting on the lifeless wicket, Taskin fired. The speed was the same at the beginning of the day, the same.
He is the highest wicket-taker in the Test series so far. Today, Taskin has taken 6 wickets, including 4 wickets for the best 128 runs of his Test career. The number could have dropped to 10 if the teammates had not missed the catch.
Mahbub Ali, the bowling coach of the last under-19 World Cup-winning team, is watching the bowling of his favorite student from Dhaka. Taskin worked with Mahbub Ali in the last lockdown. Now he keeps notes in his notebook as soon as he sees the shortcomings of bowling from a distance.
Taskin will start working again when he returns to the country. In the first light of yesterday, he said, ‘He has done well in this Test since the first Test. The line length was good. There is more work to be done in some places. I talked to our trainer. I will work on these as soon as he returns to the country. ‘
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