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On the 1st day of the 1st Test between West Indies and Bangladesh, the top order of Bangladesh collapsed again, which has been a usual scenario for Bangladesh in the recent past.
The Caribbeans have already taken a lead over 100 and they are well on course a 200+ lead, thanks to sloppy fielding by Bangladeshi fielders. If anything miraculous doesn’t happen, an innings defeat is on cards.
Whether the conditions favour the seamers or the spinners, there is always 'something' wrong with the team's top 4.
It was no different against the Caribbean side, as Bangladesh got all out for just 103 in the 2nd session.
What went wrong for the Tigers and what difference in approach from the Caribbean openers made the difference?
It was early morning, the pitch was covered with a layer of grass, and the Duke ball was what the openers had to face. It was the experienced Kemar Roach with the new ball, whose favourite opponent is Bangladesh themself.
Needless to say, sticking to the crease was a challenge as it was swinging, and the swing was supposed to persist as well.
Bangladeshi batters did not leave or defend enough balls. Mahmudul Hasan Joy chased his first delivery which was wide outside the off-stump, which could have and should have been easily left alone instead of edging it.
With his limited off-side abilities, he should have a habit of leaving the new ball as much as possible, like what he did against New Zealand earlier this year.
On the other hand, the 'out of touch' Mominul Haque planned to take his hitting point a bit forward to decrease the effect of the swing which it pitched on the grassy areas. This approach made him more unstable while defending, which resulted in him playing it late and edging it to the slip cordon for another duck.
Najmul Hossain Shanto is another left-handed top-order batter whose form has been similar to that of Mominul, if not worse in the recent past.
The deliveries pitching around the off-stump on a good length is what troubles him, which is unusual for a team's number 3. Kemar Roach capitalised on this, pitching it around the off-stump region and hitting the stump through his bat and pad.
After 15 overs, the West Indies were just 15/0. 10 overs were maidens, and a total of 84 deliveries were dots, out of which a lot were left alone.
It was as if Brathwaite and Campbell had done their homework on how to tackle the Duke ball on this surface against a quality pace attack, while Bangladesh completely missed the opportunity by not implementing a similar plan.
In fact, Bangladesh scored 45, thrice as many as the hosts did, but at the cost of 6 wickets.
In a nutshell, the top order did not leave as much as they should have. They did not execute the defence with enough defensive approach. And in the end, what was bound to happen, happened.