Bangladesh’s dressing-room was pretty low-key on Sunday evening, but the 2-1 win over Pakistan still felt important. Same XI, same fast-bowling trio, different sort of calm – and it worked.
Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz explained why they resisted the usual urge to shuffle the attack.
“We went into the match with our best bowling options,” he said. “Mustafiz, Taskin and Rana have been bowling really well. Taskin gave us turning points in the match with his wickets. Otherwise we would have lost the match. We had planned to give players full opportunities, as we believe it gives us more chance to win matches.”
Straight numbers first. Across the three ODIs Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Nahid Rana collected 19 wickets at 21.84 apiece; Rana’s five-for set up game one, Taskin’s four in the decider iced the series, and Mustafizur chipped in with key strikes when the ball stopped swinging. The rest of the side mostly watched – happily so.
Sunday’s chase-defence was classic Taskin. He bounced out Sahibzada Farhan, then jagged one back to clean-up Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan 17 for 3, and suddenly the home crowd found its voice. Later came Faheem Ashraf – cramped for room – and, finally, Salman Agha, undone by a slower-ball he couldn’t quite loft. “Taskin knows what to bowl in each situation,” Mehidy added. “He knows how to motivate himself.”
The skipper was equally keen to credit his left-arm partner. “Mustafiz never panicked despite getting hit for two sixes. He kept coming back. I think we have to give value to such experienced cricketers.”
Rana, returning after a short lay-off, didn’t say much but bowled quickly enough to earn Player-of-the-Series. Mehidy again: “I think Nahid Rana bowled very well, especially if you consider that he was making a comeback into the side.”
For Bangladesh the larger picture involves ranking points; finishing inside the World Cup automatic-qualification spots for 2027 is the stated aim. That partly explains the reluctance to rotate – no experiments, just bank the points.
Analyst Nazmul Abedin, who has worked with several of this attack at academy level, reckons the simple plan suits them. “Taskin hits the deck, Mustafiz takes pace off, Rana attacks stumps. Three different methods, one clear job,” he pointed out. You don’t need a coaching manual to follow that.
There were still flaws. The batting collapsed for 114 in game two, fielding stayed scratchy, and death-over control remains a work-in-progress. But, amid a turbulent month for the country’s cricket board, one small decision – sticking with an unchanged pace trio – provided a bit of order.
Bangladesh now head to Sylhet for the T20s. Same bowlers? Maybe, maybe not. Yet the message from the skipper is uncomplicated enough: back those who are in rhythm, bank the wins, worry about style points later.
