Bangladesh lost the three-match ODI series (3-0) against host New Zealand after losing the third match by a massive 164-run margin on Friday at the Basin Reserve, Wellington. Except for the second match, Bangladesh had shown little intent against the host during the contest. Shakib Al Hasan didn't take part in the series for Bangladesh due to injury and personal reasons. Bangladesh had struggled against the Blackcaps because of his absence, which was understandable. Young players were regarded highly, but we had seen nothing remarkable from them. Here is the Bangladesh team report card at the end of the ODI series.
BAN vs NZ ODI Series 2021: Team Performance Breakdown
Batting/Top orders
Captain Tamim Iqbal was inconsistent in batting
Bangladesh’s top orders failed again in the series. Captain Tamim Iqbal only had a good outing in the do-or-die second ODI. Bangladesh had a real chance to upset New Zealand in the second match thanks to Tamim's 78 runs, but they eventually lost by 5 wickets.
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Liton Das was unexciting. In the series, he only scored 40 runs, with his highest score of 21 runs coming in the third ODI. On the other side, Soumya Sarkar contributed 32 runs to an 81-run partnership with skipper Tamim in the second match. Soumya was promoted to no.3 position but he only managed to score 33 runs in three innings.
Batting/Middle-Order
Mohammad Mithun justified his selection for playing XI
Bangladesh's most important middle-order batsman Mushfiqur Rahim had a quiet series. He made some shot selection mistakes, resulting in just 78 runs in three innings. There was a high expectation from Mushfiqur but he was a massive disappointment throughout the series.
Mohammad Mithun was outstanding with the bat in the second ODI. He played an aggressive 73* runs knock and guided Bangladesh to post a challenging total defend and justified his inclusion in the playing XI. While Mahmudullah Riyad did his part with the bat as well. He played a couple of fiery knocks including unbeaten 76* runs in the third match. However, Bangladesh's batting performance in the series was not up to the mark.
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Bowling/Pace
Bangladeshi pacers were expensive in the series
Among the fast bowlers, Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain took the highest 3 wickets. While Taskin Ahmed scalped 2 and Hasan Mahmud took 1 wicket. However, every fast bowler was quite expensive.
The series was quite disappointing for Taskin Ahmed who made a comeback in the last series. Bangladesh fielders dropped at least 6 catches off Taskin's ball. Taskin could have been Bangladesh's most successful bowler if the catches had not been dropped.
Besides, Mohammad Saifuddin was able to slow down the scoring rate a little, but he did not take a wicket in the series.
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Bowling/Spin
Mahedi Hasan exploited the opportunity with an encouraging bowling display
There was a lot of speculation about who would be in the starting XI between Mehidy Hasan and Mahadi Hasan. Tamim finally put both of them in the XI. Mahadi made the most of the chance. Considering all aspects, he was the most effective Bangladeshi bowler in the contest. Mahadi took two wickets with 4.58 economy rates in the series. He couldn't do much with the bat, though.
On the other hand, Mehidy Hasan Miraz couldn't pick up a wicket but he was the most economical (4.11) Bangladeshi bowler in the series.
Fielding
One of the main reasons Bangladesh conceded so many runs when bowling was poor fielding. They were less productive and displayed no real urge to put in extra effort, as they dropped countless catches. Mushfiqur Rahim's wicket-keeping was also subpar.
Read: Bangladesh vs New Zealand T20 Series 2021: Who can replace Tamim in the opening slot?
Bottom Line
With the exception of two or three players, the Bangladesh team report card shows that none of the other players had satisfactory performances in the series. Bangladesh still remains winless in New Zealand against the Blackcaps, but they should have played much better this series to build confidence for the future. For the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka, team management and selectors should carefully consider the overall performance of Bangladesh players.