Shakib Al Hasan hit Iftikhar Ahmed for three fours in three balls in a passage that revealed plenty about both teams, writes Ben Gardner.
The boring middle overs, they call them, and sometimes that’s what they are. But sometimes, it can seem as if nothing is happening when really everything is, a game decided by the choice of when to attack and when to sit back. Look close enough, and this can be where the real gems lie.
When you get two teams fighting to stay afloat, with plenty going wrong desperate for something to go right, the flaws can crystallise into one pure moment. Take Shakib Al Hasan’s three-ball takedown of Iftikhar Ahmed, three consecutive boundaries struck off virtually identical balls, to three different areas. The first, stroked through cover; the second, smashed through mid-wicket; the third, launched down the ground. It was the briefest of bursts. It will likely have little outcome on the final result, or the destination of the World Cup. But it’s fascinating in its own right, and took hours, days, and weeks to create.
Let’s start with Shakib, the lead actor. He entered this World Cup as captain and ready to take advantage of his country’s best chance of reaching the semi-finals. He was the star of his 2019 tournament, scoring 606 runs and taking 11 wickets. But this time, he was just a pale shadow of that dominant force. Distracted by a pre-tournament spat with Tamim Iqbal, his own batting form has suffered, with an average of 12 runs and just one run over 15 to date.
Bangladesh won 1 out of 6 matches. Their tournament is effectively over, and he only needs one loss to officially end it. At the beginning of the tournament, he briefly left the camp to spend time at his home under the watchful eye of his mentor Nazmul Abedin Faheem. Desperate to regain rhythm, he completed 26 of his 53 games while the team struggled with his 102-4 record.
This explains Shakib’s wariness, but Pakistan’s strategy is also strange. After losing four straight, this is practically a must. Off the field, it’s somehow even worse. Resignations and accusations have already begun. No one is safe. Fakhar Zaman, who was ruled out after the World Cup match, returned to replace his former opening partner Imam-ul-Haq. Mr Imam is the nephew of chief selection committee member Inzamam-ul-Haq, who resigned following allegations of conflicts of interest, which had no bearing on the selection of his relatives at the top of the list. Vice-captain Shadab Khan is out with concussion. Mohammad Nawaz suffered a decisive defeat in a thrilling match against South Africa and is now carrying drinks.
Pakistan’s policy change is therefore only partly inevitable. Instead of Nawaz, they brought in Salman Ali Agha, a very good part-time player who averages 90 from 4 wickets and 18 ODIs, rather than Hassan Ali, a specialist bowler. This lengthened the struggling batting line-up, leaving only four bowlers in the front: Usamamir, Mohammad Wasim, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah and Afridi, leaving the responsibility for the remaining overs to Iftikhar Ahmed. It was done.
It was tempting for Bangladesh to target this fifth bowler. If they can dominate Iftikhar, they might be able to hold their own against the rest of the teams or put more pressure on them. The problem is, Iftikhar showed that finger spin can be helpful. His career economy percentage of 5.61 is decent, and his save percentage shined against Australia earlier in the tournament. His two overs made 15 as Mitchell Marsh and David Warner battled it out for 82-0 in the powerplay. But the remaining seven times cost only 22, and the last five went to infinity. At one point it looked like Australia would reach 400 points, but they ended up with only 367 wins and 9 losses.
So Babar Azam had to manage Iftikhar’s overs but Bangladesh too could not attack him mercilessly. Babar pushed through a few times with the new ball after being hit twice by Shaheen, and then when Litton Das actually tried to play the ball over the line, some twists and jumps sent him over mid-mid. I felt like spooning the wicket to go. His first eight overs of Iftikhar were all bowled within his first 30 overs, conceding only 27 runs.
Pakistan were clearly in the lead, but Iftikhar’s last two overs remained a challenge. Mahdullah, Bangladesh’s best player, had reached his half-century and it might have been risky to keep him. Shaheen was brought on in his place and made a decisive breakthrough with Coker. In the next round, Osama Mir stopped Towahid Hridoy’s three-ball counterattack. Babar, feeling the blood, was fixated on the foot rotation of his two main strikers, Shaheen and Rauf, as well as Osama.
Four boundary-less and wicket-less overs completed. Death was near. The later Iftikhar is held back, the more likely he will be attacked, but also the more likely there will be no one to attack him. Babar threw him the ball. Shakib sensed an opportunity.
At this point, Shakib reached his limit after 53 balls. However, with only two overs remaining outside the front line, he had to leave. Iftikhar was dispatched in a surprising manner. Shakib then got a single and his partner got another. The over took him 14 hours and was the second most expensive innings.
But if Shakib won this mini-battle, it was Pakistan and Babar who won the war. Iftikhar’s attack was repulsed and Wasim and Rauf returned. Rauf kicked out Shakib. He scored 43 points, the highest score of the tournament, but it wasn’t enough. Iftikhar is back. His last over contained just three singles. His final figures read 1-44 in 10 overs. He had conceded three boundaries in three balls, and two in his other 57.
Pakistan was betting on their eleven and how they could cover the risks. As a result, Bangladesh was defeated with 204 votes. It worked, except for the three Shakib beauties.
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