Bangladesh have clinched their first series win against Pakistan since 2015, and if you count the series where more than one game was played, this is the first time they have done so. There was a combined mix of things that made it possible. Of course, Dhaka’s pitch took the visitors by surprise, and before they could get their heads around it, they were already 2-0 down. But saying it was the only reason Bangladesh wrote history would be unfair. On a surface that PDA-ed its love for bowlers, Bangladesh’s middle-order batters, Mahedi Hasan and Jaker Ali, kept their calm even after their team was four down for 28.
Ali, who scored the most in the second T20I, said he was given a plan B by captain Litton Das right before he walked in to rescue his side.
“The captain had given me a separate plan after we lost wickets quickly,” Jaker said. “We had come into the game knowing that the conditions wouldn’t allow for a high-scoring match. I thought it was a 155-160 wicket, but the captain told me to go for 140. I think we were seven runs short. If I had hit a six off the last ball, we would have given them that target. I think this is a good approach, where I know my goal.”
While Mahedi didn’t survive till the end, his quick-fire 25-ball 33-run knock helped shift the pressure back on Pakistan almost immediately. He took Khushdil Shah for 11 runs in an over, which was really the turning point of the game.
“[Mahedi] played a very important innings. When he started to attack their bowlers, I was playing a supporting role,” Jaker said. “We could have had a bigger score had he been there till the end.”
After Mahedi departed, Jaker had to step on the gas to reduce the deficit. Bangladesh were at 81 for 5, and Jaker struck three sixes to help bring the tally to 133 before departing on the last ball of the over. He added 34 runs off 22 balls while batting with the tail, which he said was something he had a good experience with.
“I have always batted at No. 7 since my age-group days, so I know how to bat with the tail,” he said. “I once added 71 runs with the tail to score a century in the Under-17s. I don’t worry too much about batting with the tail. I just try to save the guy at the other end, and get the runs.”
Not only did he have to bat at No. 5 in the second T20I, but his entry point came way earlier than he is used to. The collapse coerced him to come to the crease in the fifth over, but he said he was mentally prepared for the challenge.
“I knew well ahead that I would bat at No. 5. I was mentally prepared. I batted in this position in the West Indies too,” he said. “I stuck to my usual routines. I have been working at it for the last two years with our batting coach [Mohammad Salahuddin]. I only count match-winning runs. The rest doesn’t register with me.”
