Bangladesh Tours of New Zealand & Sri Lanka 2021 Review: Dissecting Bangladesh’s Horror As Youth Prevails for NZ, SL

by Nitesh Mathur | Jun 9, 2021 | Previews and Reviews

Bangladesh tours of New Zealand & Sri Lanka review.

It seemed that instead of a complete tour, Bangladesh played several small series over the last few months. The Tigers played 3-match ODI & T20I series in New Zealand, then a 2-match Test series in Sri Lanka, followed by 3 ODIs at home against the same opposition.

The last couple of months can be summed up with a disappointment for Bangladesh but some positive news at the end for the currently #1 ranked team in the ODI Super League. Good finds by the Kiwis and Lankans as well.

Also Read: Ross Taylor’s Fan Tribute, West Indies tour of Bangladesh Review, Australia Vs New Zealand Series Review

Bangladesh Tours of New Zealand & Sri Lanka – The Results

NZ-Ban ODI Series: New Zealand won 3-0

* Player of Match

1. New Zealand won by 8 wickets *Trent Boult
   • Video Highlights
2. New Zealand won by 5 wickets *Tom Latham
   • Video Highlights
3. New Zealand won by 164 runs *Devon Conway
   • Video Highlights

NZ-Ban T20I Series: New Zealand won 3-0

1. New Zealand won by 66 runs *Devon Conway
   • Video Highlights
2. New Zealand won by 28 runs (D/L method) *Glenn Phillips
   • Video Highlights
3. New Zealand won by 65 runs *Finn Allen
   • Video Highlights

SL-Ban Test Series: Sri Lanka won 1-0

1. Match Drawn *Dimuth Karunaratne
   • Video Highlights
2. Sri Lanka won by 209 runs *Praveen Jayawickrama
   • Video Highlights

Ban-SL ODI Series: Bangladesh won 2-1

1. Bangladesh won by 33 runs*Mushfiqur Rahim
2. Bangladesh won by 103 runs (D/L method)*Mushfiqur Rahim
3. Sri Lanka won by 97 runs*Dushmantha Chameera

Major Moments

There were numerous moments in this Bangladesh tours of New Zealand & Sri Lanka. Here are the major takeaways.

New Zealand

Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, & Daryl Mitchell solidified their places during this tour

• After his Test ton against Pakistan, Mitchell scored 100* (92) in the 3rd ODI, pushing New Zealand to 318/6. Quickfire 34* (16) in the rain-curtailed 2nd T20I as well. It is a shame that he is not a regular due to the rich presence of Colin de Grandhomme & Mitchell Santner.
• Devon Conway has now conquered Test cricket with a double century at Lord’s, but before that his debut ODI series against Bangladesh included a fifty and a maiden century—126 in the 3rd ODI. Highest scorer in both the ODI & T20I series and donned the gloves as well.
• Glenn Phillips finished the first T20I with a blistering 24* (10) along with a 58* (23) in the 2nd T20I, rescuing NZ from 55-3 in 6.1 overs to 173/5 in 17.5 overs.

New Zealand are now unearthing fast bowlers & youngsters at an alarming rate. Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Blundell & Devon Conway have all performed in the past season, and the Kiwis can now add Finn Allen & Will Young to that list after the T20I series.

• Prior to the T20I series, Will Young had a total of 60 runs in 2 Tests & 2 ODIs. He announced himself with 53 (30) with four sixes in the first T20I to cement his place in the T20I squad for the near future.
• Finn Allen’s blistering 71* (29) was an innings of a lifetime. 10 fours, 3 sixes, and an 85 run partnership with Martin Guptill in just 5.4 overs. The Kiwis ended with 141/4 in a ten-over game. Bangladesh?—76 all out.

The return of Martin Guptill & Tim Southee

In Williamson’s absence, Latham captained the ODI series while Tim Southee took the T20I reigns. Latham justified his selection with a match winning 110* (108) in a successful 272 run-chase.

• With youngsters knocking on the doors, several questions on the seniors. Ross Taylor is already out of the T20I squad with the influx of talent, and Guptill & Southee were under the scanner.
• After the successful Australia series, Guptill responded with scores of 38, 20, 26, 35, 21, & 44 in this series. Does not look ultra-impressive but strike rates of 200.00, 83.33, 92.85, 129.62, 116.66, & 231.57 were exactly the kind of starts New Zealand expect from Guptill. Needs to convert soon though.
• Southee’s 3/15 in the 3rd T20I removed any hope for Bangladesh’s chase. Ended as the highest wicket-taker in the T20I series and now performing in the England Tests. 2nd wind for the 32 year old?

Anyway, these were just the major moments. Comeback for Adam Milne along with good outings for Jimmy Neesham, Todd Astle (4/13), Ish Sodhi (4/28), Matt Henry (4/27), Lockie Ferguson.

Bangladesh

Batting, Youngsters, & Overseas Victories a Concern For Bangladesh

• From March 20th to May 23rd, Bangladesh lost 6 consecutive matches in New Zealand & lost the Test series 0-1 in Sri Lanka. Over the two Tests, Bangladesh were on the field for 4-5 days, which contributed to mental fatigue. These overseas series really hurt Bangladesh’s confidence, and even though they finally won the home ODI series that followed, they did not play well according to captain Tamim Iqbal.
• Apart from the 2nd ODI & 2nd T20I against NZ, Bangladesh’s score read 131/10 (41.5), 154/10 in 42.4 (after being 8/102), 6/59 (7.5), & 76/10 (9.3). In the Sri Lanka ODI series, Rahim-Mahmudlluah rescued Bangaldesh from 99/4 (22.6), 74/4 (15.4), and 84/4 in 23.2 (en route 189/10). Top order issues galore.
• 19,0, 21, 0, 4, 6,0, 0, 25 read Liton Das’ limited overs scores – 4 ducks. Test scores of 50, 8 & 17 not much better. I really hope Liton Das has a Rohit Sharma-esque 2013 resurrection given his immense talent. Six years since his debut, Das averages 20.83 (T20I), 28.78 (ODI), & 28.35 (Tests) in 117 innings. Only 3 centuries and 15 fifties. Cannot depend on Tamim Iqbal forever, especially with Mohammad Naim & Soumya Sarkar blowing hot and cold.

The M Factor & Absence of Shakib Al Hasan Felt Dearly

• Although Shakib Al Hasan returned in the Sri Lanka ODI series, he was sorely missed in the New Zealand leg. In the spin bowling department, there were brief sparks, but not much else, from Nasum Ahmed & name twins—Mahedi Hasan & Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who bowled in tandem. Lacking in control & consistency.
• At one point, Sri Lanka used to have the M Factor. In the Sri Lanka ODI series, Bangladesh unleashed the M Factor of their own—Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, & Mustafizur Rahman.
  • Opening the bowling, Mehidy’s miserly 4/30 & 3/28 were match-winning spells. Bodes well if 2023 World Cup in India has these slow pitches.
  • Although not back at his best yet, Mustafizur Rahman is slowly getting there (see Jarrod Kimber’s analysis here). His slow off-cutters are back and his 6-1-16-3 in the 2nd ODI was especially good (to go with 9-0-34-3 in first ODI).
  • Highest run-scorer at #4 since the 2015 World Cup, Mushfiqur Rahim has to be one of the most underrated players of this era. This series showed exactly why with his 84 (87) & 125 (127) sealing the deal for Bangladesh.
  • Mahmudullah was the only saving grace in NZ with a 76* in the final ODI. Followed it up with 54, 41, 53 in the SL series. Mushfiqur-Mahmudullah emerging as legendary lower order ODI rescue partners.

Still Some Positives For the Tigers

• Captains Tamim Iqbal & Mominul Haque provide consistency. Looks like the split captaincy is working. Adding to Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 163, Mominul scored a defiant ton in Sri Lanka, while Tamim has a few 50s (92 & 90 in SL Tests) on these two tours. Only if the team starts winning now…
• It looked like Bangladesh had turned a corner in the 2015 World Cup with a pace attack of Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, & Taskin Ahmed. Taskin’s decline was heartbreaking but he is back among the wickets with 8 wickets in the Test series. With decent find in 20-year old Shoriful Islam, a lineup of Mustafizur-Mehidy-Taskin-Saifuddin-Shoriful-Shakib might be exactly what the Tigers need.

Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka are rocking some young left-arm spinners. Embuldeniya earlier this year and now Praveen Jayawickrama with a 11-wicket haul on debut. This included two 5-fers, 6/92 & 5/86 as Sri Lanka won the Test series.
• Karunatarane (244, 118, 66) Thirimanne (58, 140), Dhananjaya de Silva (166, 41), Niroshan Dickwella (31, 77*) had dream batting days that took Sri Lanka to scores of 684/8d, 493/7d, 194/9d. They did not get bowled out even once.
• Dusmantha Chameera has one of Sri Lanka’s bright stars amidst their downfall. He improved over the course of thh ODI series with figures of 1/39, 3/44, and a match-winning spell of 9-1-16-5. Winning hand by new-ODI captain Kusal Perera in the final ODI as well – 120 (122).
• Thisara Perera, star of the 2014 T20 WC final victory unexpectedly announced his retirement at the age of 32, having played seven world cups for Sri Lanka.

Squad Predictions for T20I World Cup

Here are my early squad predictions for the 23-member T20I World Cup Squad based on the NZ-Ban T20I series. Kane Williamson’s spot in danger?

New Zealand

1. Martin Guptill, 2. Tim Seifert (WK), 3. Kane Williamson*, 4. Devon Conway, 5. Glenn Phillips, 6. Colin de Grandhomme, 7. Mitchell Santner, 8. Tim Southee, 9. Trent Boult, 10. Lockie Ferguson, 11. Ish Sodhi

Squad: 12. Finn Allen, 13. Will Young, 14. Jimmy Neesham, 15. Daryl Mitchell, 16. Kyle Jamieson, 17. Todd Astle, 18. Hamish Bennett, 19. Blair Tickner, 20. Jacob Duffy, 21. Mark Chapman, 22. Ross Taylor, 23. Doug Bracewell/Scott Kuggeleijn

*captain

Bangladesh

1. Tamim Iqbal, 2. Liton Das, 3. Soumya Sarkar, 4. Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Shakib Al Hasan, 6. Mahmudullah, 7. Afif Hossain, 8. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9. Mohammad Saifuddin, 10. Mustafizur Rahman, 11. Taskin Ahmed

Squad: 12. Mohammad Naim, 13. Najmul Hossain Shanto, 14. Mosaddek Hossain, 15. Mahedi Hasan, 16. Nasum Ahmed, 17. Shoriful Islam, 18. Rubel Hossain, 19. Mohammad Mithun, 20. Al-Amin Hossain, 21. Hasan Mahmud, 22. Abu Haider, 23. Sabbir Rahman

Awards

Here are the awards for Bangladesh Tours of New Zealand & Sri Lanka.

Where Do They Go From Here?

Although Bangladesh had a tough two months, they are sitting at the top of the ODI Super League Table with 5 wins from 9 matches. New Zealand are on #5 (3/3) and Sri Lanka are struggling at #13 (1/6). Bangladesh have no upcoming series for a while.

New Zealand are currently in England for 2 Tests & World Test Championship final. Apart from the forthcoming T20 leagues, the Kiwis have no assignments till the T20 World Cup in October-November. After the World Cup, New Zealand has a short limited overs tour of Australia in January 2022.

Sri Lanka travel to England for 3 T20Is & 3 ODIs in June followed by a home series against India for 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is in July. Later in February Sri Lanka will follow NZ’s suit and travel to Australia for 5 T20Is.

Comment below for your favorite moments in Bangladesh tours of New Zealand & Sri Lanka! Subscribe for more below! Share with your friends as well! Here is our Facebook & Twitter pages.

Copyright (2021: 6/8/2021)– @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X – bcd@brokokencricketdreams.com

West Indies Vs Sri Lanka 2021 Series Review: Positives Galore For the Windies In An Enthralling Series

by Nitesh Mathur | Apr 10, 2021 | Previews and Reviews

Time for West Indies Vs Sri Lanka 2021 Test Series Review—one of the most competitive series in recent times.

A dream for neutral fans. This series just had so many moments!

• The return of Fidel Edwards, Gayle, and Dwayne Bravo to the T20I setup
• Akila Dananjaya’s hat-trick & Kieron Pollard’s 6 sixes (in the same game), Hasaranga’s guile, Holder & Allen’s finishing abilites
• West Indies’ rising HOPE (tons for Hope-Lewis-Darren Bravo)
• Suranga Lakmal’s toil, Thirimanne’s resurgence, Dickwella’s non-hundred
• Cornwall’s counterattack, another Bonner-Mayers-Silva 5th Day Test match, Kraigg Brathwaite’s marathon batting effort
• Curtly Ambrose & Ian Bishop on commentary.

Without further ado, here is the series review for you!

Read till the end for my picks for World T20 World Cup Squad Predictions, video highlights, best moments, emerging players, and much more!

Also Read: West Indies Vs Bangladesh Review, West Indies Vs New Zealand Review

Results – West Indies Vs Sri Lanka

T20I Series: West Indies Win 2-1

* Player of Match

1. West Indies won by 4 wickets *Kieron Pollard
   • Video Highlights
2. Sri Lanka won by 43 runs*PWH de Silva
   • Video Highlights
3. West Indies won by 3 wickets*Fabian Allen
   • Video Highlights

ODI Series: West Indies Win 3-0

1. West Indies won by 8 wickets*Shai Hope
   • Video Highlights
2. West Indies won by 5 wickets*Evin Lewis
   • Video Highlights
3. West Indies won by 5 wickets*Darren Bravo
   • Video Highlights

Test Series: Drawn 0-0

1. Match Drawn*Nkrumah Bonner
   • Video Highlights
2. Match Drawn*Kraigg Brathwaite
   • Video Highlights

The Moments

West Indies

1. A Tale of Three Captains: Holder, Pollard, Brathwaite

After West Indies’ remarkable victory against Bangladesh, stand-in Kraigg Brathwaite was made the permanent captain, replacing Jason Holder. Any claims of clash of egos, however, was much unfounded. Each of them contributed with the bat and Holder was even vocal on the field. Here is how they performed:

• Pollard: 38 (11) w/ 6 sixes in 1st T20I, 53* (42) in 3rd ODI
• Brathwaite: In Bangladesh, he scored 76 & 20 and 47 & 6. Stable but no daddy hundreds. This time, he made amends with 126 (311) & 85 (196). His 813 minutes marathon effort broke the all-time West Indies record, surpassing the likes of Darren Bravo, Brian Lara, Desmond Haynes, & Gordon Greenidge.
• Holder: He might not be the captain of the West Indies, but showed that he is still the #1 Test All-Rounder in the world. With 5/72 & 5th day match-saving contributions of 18* and 71* in the two Tests, his calm influence was evident. In the T20Is, scores of 29* and 14* might not look like much, but defending Hasaranga in the 18th over, so Fabian Allen could finish it off with 3 sixes was one of my moments of the series.

2. The Return of Hope to West Indies Cricket

110, 84, & 64—Hope is back. With 10 centuries, 19 50s, & 53.74 average, he is one of best ODI batsman in recent times along with Babar Azam & Virat Kohli. With John Campbell struggling for runs, expect a Test recall.

When Hope does not score a ton, Evin Lewis will. Returned with 65 & 103. When neither of them scored a hundred, Darren Bravo came back with a ton.

Their strike rates were in question, but healthy top order partnerships is the positive for the Windies.

3. Nkrumah Bonner-Kyle Mayers Partnership No Fluke

At the age of 32, Bonner has toiled hard enough in first class cricket. Bonner narrowly missed his ton in Bangladesh with 86 & 90 in Bangladesh, but his dream came true with a 113* in the first test.

A couple of 50s for Kyle Mayers & handy partnerships with Joshua de Silva shows that the Bangladesh tour was no fluke.

4. A Word on Rakheem Cornwall

Time to appreciate Rakheem Cornwall. Bowled his heart out in the spinning pitches of Bangladesh, and without his counter-attacking knocks of 61 & 73, West Indians might have lost 0-2 against Sri Lanka at home. Let Rakheem be Rakheem.

Sri Lanka

1. Suranga Lakmal Bowls His Heart Out Yet Again

Suranga Lakmal could have easily slotted in one of the great Sri Lankan teams of the past. Unfortunately, after Herath’s retirement, he has to single handedly carry the Sri Lankan bowling on his shoulders. Highest wicket-taker across both sides and bowling 92 overs as a fast bowler in 2 tests—Commendable effort.

2. Hasaranga & Nissanka the Find For Sri Lanka

While Embuldeniya & Axar Patel bamboozled the English sides, the West Indies struggled against Hasaranga. If Sri Lanka are to progress further, watch out for the Embuldeniya-Hasaranga-Dhananjaya partnership.

Test century (103) on debut—Pathum Nissanka —take a bow! Followed it up with a 50 in the next innings. With Oshada Fernando also in good touch, finally good signs for Sri Lanka.

Talent ✔. Next goal — consistency.

3. Thirimanne Delivers A Decade Later

Thirimanne averages 25.87 now after a decade and 40 Tests to his name. Finally some consistency in the last four Tests with 2 centuries, 3 fifties (on this tour), a 43 & a 39.

Sri Lanka might have found a stable line up in Karunaratne, Thirimanne, Nissanka, Fernando, Mathews, and Dickwella. Speaking of Dickwella, so close yet so far. Scored his highest score of 92 (after 43 Tests). Brilliant character.

Also Read: Lasith Malinga, The Slinga, The Slayer, The SuperStar

Also Read: Carlos Brathwaite’s Broken Dream, Nicholas Pooran’s Inspirational Story

Squad Predictions for T20I World Cup

With 23-men squad for the T20I world possible now, here are my early squad predictions. A good mix of experience & youth for the Windies.

West Indies

1. Lendl Simmons, 2. Evin Lewis, 3. Shimron Hetmyer, 4. Kieron Pollard*, 5. Nicholas Pooran, 6. Rovman Powell, 7. Andre Russell, 8. Fabian Allen, 9. Kevin Sinclair, 10. Sheldon Cottrell, 11. Obed McCoy

Squad: 12. Jason Holder, 13. Chris Gayle, 14. Dwayne Bravo, 15. Andre Fletcher, 16. Darren Bravo, 17. Keemo Paul, 18. Alzarri Joseph, 19. Oshane Thomas, 20. Fidel Edwards, 21. Akeal Hosein, 22. Hayden Walsh Jr., 23. Kesrick Williams/ Chamar Holder

*captain

Sri Lanka

1. Danushka Gunathilaka, 2. Pathum Nissanka, 3. Niroshan Dickwella (WK), 4. Dinesh Chandimal, 5. Angelo Mathews, 6. Thisara Perara, 7. Dasun Shanaka*, 8. Akila Dananjaya, 9. PWH de Silva, 10. Dushmantha Chameera, 11. Lakshan Sandakan

Squad: 12. Ashen Bandara, 13. Asitha Fernando, 14. Nuwan Pradeep, 15. Oshada Fernando, 16. Suranga Lakmal, 17. Ramesh Mendis, 18. Kamindu Mendis, 19. Dilshan Madushanka, 20. Suranga Lakmal, 21. Dimuth Karunaratne, 22. Avishka Fernando, 23. Lasith Malinga

Awards

Where Do They Go From Here?

Great Test cricket in recent times, and the West Indies Vs Sri Lanka series lived up to the billing—first 0-0 draw in the last 5 years. Sri Lanka follow this with two Test matches against Bangladesh in April at home(to complete matches from the pandemic).

With neither side qualifying for the WTC final, the next major tournament is the T20I World Cup. Gayle, Hetmyer, Pooran, Pollard, Bravo & Russell have reached for the IPL, while Sri Lanka has zero players in the IPL (once Sangakkara-Jayawardene used to captain IPL teams). In June, Sri Lanka will travel to England for 3 T20Is & 3 ODIs to prepare for the World Cup.

Finally, in Jan-Feb of 2022, England tour West Indies for 5 T20Is & 3 Tests, returning their generous favor of restarting cricket last summer.

Comment below for your favorite moments & squad predictions! Subscribe for more below! Share with your friends as well! Here is our Facebook & Twitter pages.

Copyright (2021: 4/10/2021)– @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X – bcd@brokokencricketdreams.com

Image Courtesy: Featured Image – Own Work, Getty Images (Cornwall)