Image sources: News18

Pre-Match Preparations and Assumptions

 In the run-up to an important game, teams would typically consult statistics and pundits on the playing conditions. On the day of their training session, Bangladesh knew that the pitch at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was likely to favour batting. While rumours of a green top flew around, the visitors assumed the surface would play true, and batters would need to remain patient against a flat pitch.

The Toss: A Crucial Choice

 From this perspective, it was natural for Shanto and his team to be inclined to bat first if they won the toss, so that they could post a challenging total, and then let their spinners dominate later in the game. Yet that was not what they did. Instead, they sensed that the pitch favoured seamers, and decided to bowl first, so as to take early wickets and put Pakistan on the back foot.

The Reality of the Pitch

 In the first session and a half, it looked like the pitch would play as predicted – the early conditions were destabilising for the batsmen, and the Bangladesh seamers did cause trouble to Pakistan’s top order. But with the relief of the morning sun, the pitch started to lose its early liveliness. Choosing three seamers and a fourth spinner instead of a fourth seamer was a mistake. The bowlers started to tire, and the lack of pace depth showed.

Pakistan’s Counterattack

 Pakistan’s middle order, led by Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan, built a partnership and took full toll of a jaded Bangladesh attack. The declaration of the innings was a last roll of the dice from Bangladesh but the damage had already been done. Lacking a strong strength of fast bowling, Pakistan were able to dictate the tempo of the game.

The Impending Challenge for Pakistan

 The more the pitch wore down, the more it would favour seam bowling, something that would put Pakistan on the back foot. Without specialist spinners of its own, Pakistan’s pace attack will have to learn to adapt to the slowing pitch. If Bangladesh’s middle order veterans were able to bat through to the end, they would give Pakistan a chance to start rethinking their team combinations for their next set of games. 

Conclusion: Lessons for Future

 The toss will likely go down as a pivotal factor in the match, and rightly so: in a challenging scenario for Bangladesh, the execution was poor. The match acts as a reminder that being able to read and respond to pitch conditions takes time, and is particularly perilous in foreign conditions.

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Sources: https://www.bbc.com/