Season 49 - Bangladesh Senior NT Tour Summary
Date: 08 Nov 2021 - 12 Nov 2021
Competition:
Nat Twenty20 Division 1
Results: Wins = 4, Ties = 0, Loss = 1
Our first, and only, T20 tour of the season saw us taking on some of the FTP powerhouse nations in Division 1. Having survived in the top tier last season, we were already assured of a place at the T20 World Cup at the end of the year but this tour was about attempting to maintain our top division status moving forward. We were up against Australia, England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand as well as last year's One Day World Cup winners, the Netherlands.
Our inexperienced squad featured a quartet of T20 international debutants as well as a host of players who had represented their country less than ten times in the shorter format. We got off to a great start with a solid victory against Sri Lanka on opening day thanks to a well constructed run chase marshalled by Ambathi Binny’s superb 67*. We followed this win with a remarkable victory over Australia which featured some exceptional death bowling and a trio of wickets for Amit Tendulkar on his full international debut. The third game saw another superb bowling performance and a third win, this time against New Zealand. We made it four wins in four when we comfortably chased a total of 102 against England. Our final feature saw us take on Netherlands, a side I have struggled to beat over the past few seasons - most recently losing to them in a World Cup final. We had a terrible time with the bat and suffered a disappointing defeat; a loss that ultimately meant we missed out on a Division 1 title, losing out on net run rate to Australia who also won four games.
A really great week ended with a bit of a whimper but I have to be happy with what we achieved. Maintaining our status in Division 1 was exactly the outcome I wanted from this week and we showed that we can mix it with some of the best sides in the game despite our clear skill disadvantage.
The bowling performances were, as they have been since I took over, something to be fairly happy with. The pitch selection for this week meant that it was always going to be a bowler friendly week and that certainly proved to be the case with a number of batters struggling. In fact, only two batters surpassed 100 total runs across the entire week but, with that being said, we performed admirably with the bat right up until the disaster of the last game against my new arch-nemesis, the Netherlands, where we slipped from 42-2 to 68 all out.
Unsurprisingly, given the excellent team efforts this week there were quite a few deserving individual players to select as top performers. These are the choices I ultimately decided to go with:
Key Performers:
Batters:
Ambathi Binny (3 games; 95 runs @ 47.50 runs/game, High Score 67*)
Ambathi Binny is one of the most naturally gifted players to come through the Bangladesh national team ranks in recent seasons but some might say he has never quite lived up to the hype. Now 28, Binny proved this tour that he is one of our finest players. In the opening fixture, against Sri Lanka, we found ourselves chasing a challenging total of 132 on a crumbling wicket. Binny, opening the batting, proceeded to score a superb unbeaten 67. The innings included five boundaries and was one that meant we easily reached the desired target with two overs to spare. He also proved his prowess as one of the nations best fielders, adding a catch and a direct hit run-out as part of his man of the match performance in the opening fixture.
Ersan Ilyasova (3 games; 81 runs @ 27.00 runs/game, High Score 53)
Ilyasova found himself omitted from the entire squad earlier this season in a shock move from manager Brunel. Recalled for this T20 tour, the 29 year old proved that he still has life left at international level as he was one of very few players, who managed to reach double figures in every innings this tour. His highlight moment came against New Zealand when, opening the batting, he scored a gritty 53 - a knock that was his first ever international fifty and one that laid the foundations for another victory.
Bowlers:
Amit Tendulkar (3 games; 8 wickets @ 6.62, best 3-13, 4.68 economy)
Tendulkar, who was a surprise inclusion in the T20 squad having not played an international game before, had a brilliant debut tour. The right arm fast seamer was absolutely superb and claimed the second most wickets in the division. He picked up three wickets on his debut against Australia and then recorded the best Bangladesh figures of the week when he took 3-13 against the Netherlands. A late bloomer, who recently turned 29, might be one to watch with the upcoming One Day tour squad announcement looming.
Saeed Das (3 games; 6 wickets @ 11.00, best 3-22, 5.50 economy)
Das, who has become one of the most experienced bowlers in the squad following some recent veteran retirements, had a great tour and highlighted again his prowess with the new ball in hand. The medium pacer claimed a wicket in all three games that he appeared in and his career best 3-22 against England saw him dismiss both openers as well as their number three. He was misly with regards to conceding runs and his figures of 4-1-14-1 against Australia was a big reason that we were able to defend such a low total.
Milestones:
Amit Uthappa - 300 Nat T20 runs.
It was not the greatest tour for Uthappa but he did surpass 300 T20 runs this week. The veteran bat achieved this feat in his 15th T20 appearance and became the 45th Bangladesh player to surpass this milestone.
Sanjeev Khanolkar- 15 Nat T20 wickets.
The right arm wrist spinner claimed his 15th One Day international wicket during this tour. The 31 year old managed this during the game against England when he claimed 3-22, the third time he had collected an international T20 three wicket haul in his career. His 16 international T20 wickets have come at an average of 18.69.
Saeed Das - 15 Nat T20 wickets.
Das claimed six wickets this tour and that took his international T20 total up to 15. The new ball specialist medium pacer achieved the feat in just his 11th game with each wicket coming at an average of 18.80.
Satish Durani - 15 Nat T20 wickets.
The aging all-rounder is entering the twilight years of his career but he also managed to collect his 15th international T20 wicket this week. His four wickets this tour took his total to 15, claimed at an average of 19.20.
All in all this was an extremely pleasing tour for me, especially given the fact we were up against some of the highest rating nations in the game. We avoided relegation and cemented our status as a Division 1 T20 side which will no doubt leave the squad in high spirits ahead of the T20 World Cup due to take place at the end of this season.
We have a few friendly games to come over the next few weeks and then we will be setting our sights on the final One Day tour of the season. We have everything to play for in the longer format as we attempt to get one step closer to World Cup qualification.