ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Five negatives for Bangladesh from the tournament
Bangladesh Cricket team and their fans all over the world can be mighty proud of the performance of their side in the eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in England.
The team entered this iconic tournament as the underdogs but their sheer grit along with resilience to improve their game and showcase talent on the world stage enabled them to craft their way into the final four stage of the tournament.
In the league match against the Kiwis, the team was down and dusted after early jitters while chasing a huge first innings total of 266 runs. Everybody in the stadium and the fans back home gave up the idea of an uncanny victory but the two young players in the middle order for the Tigers, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah had other ideas as they scripted their way to a famous win with an epic 224 run stand for the fifth wicket.
The win ensured that the finalists of the 2015 edition of the World Cup, New Zealand were knocked out of the competition from the group stage. Despite the win, a spot for the final four of the tournament was largely dependent on the outcome of the match between Australia and the home team.
A masterclass from Ben Stokes combined with a crucial half-century from skipper Morgan ensured that the Australian team was knocked out of the tournament. This result paved way for a new chapter in the history of Bangladesh cricket as they registered their first appearance in the final four of any ICC event.
Unfortunately, the Tigers could not get past the reigning champions, India in the second semi-finals of the tournament after being comprehensively outclassed by nine wickets at Birmingham
Things could have been slightly different for the Bangladesh team if the following five things would not have happened in the tournament.
#5 Failure at the top of the order
One of the main reason, the Bangladesh team have struggled with the bat in this Champions Trophy is the inconsistency at the top of the order. The Tigers have failed to stitch a solid opening partnership throughout the tournament, mainly due to the lack of runs by Soumya Sarkar.
The left-hander accounted for a horror run with the bat after registering just 34 runs in the four matches.
The 24-year-old started the tournament on a positive note after scoring 28 runs in the inaugural match of the tournament against England but soon lost his touch and managed to score just three runs each in the following two matches against Australia and New Zealand.
Sarkar failed to perform with the bat yet again in the semi-finals of the tournament after he was castled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar without troubling the scorers in the very first over of the match.