The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 Round will begin on October 23rd (Saturday). Qualifier teams must finish first or second in their respective groups to advance to the Super 12s. Bangladesh lost their opening encounter against Scotland, jeopardizing their chances of finishing first in the group. Bangladesh must win their remaining two matches against Oman and Papua New Guinea to finish second in the group. However, they will need to craft a smart plan for playing those matches. The major points from Bangladesh's loss to Scotland are addressed in this article.  

Bangladesh's Defeat to Scotland: Key Takeaways

Bangladesh restricted Scotland to 140/9 in the allocated 20 overs after opting to bowl first. Bangladesh ended their innings with a total of 134/7, losing the match by 6 runs.

Bowling 

Spinners will be key on this surface

Unlike in the recent home series, Captain Mahmudullah Riyad gave the ball to pacers to bowl the power play overs. The pacer trio fared well, limiting Scotland to 39 runs and picking up a wicket. However, Bangladesh could have picked even more wickets if Mahmudullah had chosen to begin the innings with two spinners. When the spinners came into play, the surface appeared to be a little more conducive to the slower bowlers.

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Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Mahedi Hasan bowled three overs apiece, stretching from seven to twelve overs, and each took two wickets. Scotland's batters struggled to negotiate both of them, and they were 55/6 at the end of 12 overs. Bangladesh were in a strong position at the time. However, Mark Watt and Chris Greaves put up a counter-attacking 51-run stand for the seventh wicket to change the scenario in Scotland's favor.

Key Point: Bangladesh should stick to its core strength and use more spinners in the upcoming matches.

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Effective pace bowlers should use in the death overs

Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, and Mustafizur Rahman bowled Bangladesh's final four overs. They gave up a lot of runs and assisted Scotland in putting up a challenging score to defend.

Scotland were 96/6 after 16 overs but scored 44 runs in the next four overs. Bangladesh's quickest bowler, Taskin Ahmed went for 15 runs in the 18th over. He assisted Scotland in gaining momentum. Overall, Taskin yielded 28 runs in three overs, Mustafizur 32 runs in four overs, and Saifuddin 30 runs in four overs.

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Bangladesh's fast bowlers showed that they were not well equipped for these types of surfaces, particularly in the final overs. They needed a better understanding as well as the necessary knowledge to succeed on these kinds of wickets. On a flat track, Taskin Ahmed could be costly, and skipper Riyad should avoid him in the final few overs.

Key Point: Spinners may be a viable choice for Mahmudullah to bowl the death overs. Pacers must bowl with pinpoint accuracy in order to bowl in the block-hole.

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Batting

Bangladesh need an anchor batter to bat through the innings

There was some concern before the tournament about who would play the anchor role in the absence of Tamim Iqbal. This topic has come up again after the dismal loss to Scotland.

Both Bangladesh openers were dismissed within four overs, putting immense pressure on the middle order to maintain the run rates. One of the openers should have performed as the anchor for Bangladesh, carrying the innings to the end. Because this could relieve the pressure from the following batters.

Key Point: Liton Das can be an excellent choice to play the anchor role as he is more sensible than the others.

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Experienced players must rediscover their best form

Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim batted in the middle for a while and put on a 47-run stand for the third wicket. However, they were both far from their best and need to improve in the coming matches. Otherwise, Bangladesh would be in much more difficulties at crucial moments.

Key Point: The form of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan will be crucial for Bangladesh.

Late Middle orders must learn how to finish the game

Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, and Mohammad Saifuddin batted in the match. They tried some big shots but were unable to complete the task. Most of the players were caught in the boundary line. Afif Hossain was in excellent form and he needed to be moved up the batting order.

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Key Point: Big hitters must develop the ability to finish games.

Way Forward

After analyzing the key reasons behind Bangladesh's defeat to Scotland, it's apparent that the batters struggled in this match. Bowlers also gave up a lot of runs in the death overs. The team management must address those issues in order to play well in the remaining two qualifying matches of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Bangladesh will face Oman at the same venue on Tuesday (October 19). This will, without a doubt, be a do-or-die contest for team Tigers.

Read ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Major Takeaways from Bangladesh's Loss to Scotland