Amid the run-fest, the pacers made their presence felt in this World Cup with left-arm pacers looking more potent than anyone else.
Australia’s Mitchell Starc has been leading the pack with 24 scalps in eight matches, a staggering three wickets per match, while the likes of Mohammad Amir, Trent Boult are not far away.
Amir and Boult so far claimed 16 and 13 wickets respectively to put them in fourth and sixth place, meaning three left-arm pacers in the top six bowling list.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah, another southpaw in the cricket’s biggest carnival, didn’t take that much wickets but remained almost unplayable so far.
They not only took wickets but also curbed the batsmen’s aggression, which was reflected in their economy rate also. Neither of them conceded more than five runs per over.
While the left-arm pacers scripted their side’s victory in every match, the scenario is not same in the case of Bangladesh, who also have blessed with an enormously talented left-arm pacer in Mustafizur Rahman.
The Fizz, as he is adorably called, so far took 10 wickets in six matches but never had he looked comfortable in this World Cup. Though he was successful in death overs, with the new ball, he looked pale.
His ordinary performance with the new ball is the reason that Bangladesh weren’t successful in first 10 overs. Only once in their six matches in the ongoing World Cup – in the match against New Zealand on June 5 – have Bangladesh taken more than one wicket in the first 10 overs.
Bangladesh will take on India in their ‘do or die’ match on Tuesday.
With Bangladesh’s World Cup is on the line, they couldn’t afford to allow India survive first 10 overs. India’s batting strength lies in their top three batsmen-Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. And if they are taken out early, India looks vulnerable, a thing that was proved time and again in the past.
However the proved template is: If India’s openers can survive first 10 overs, they can cause havoc on opponents.
So it’s the time for Mustafizur Rahman to pull up the socks and lead the fast bowling pack. He can draw inspiration from his debut series against India, in which he took 13 wickets from three games to help Bangladesh win their first bilateral series against the sub-continent giants in 2015.
But the problem is Mustafizur then took only two wickets in three matches against India in ODIs. But those two wickets came in the last match he played against India in Asia Cup in 2018. He took 2-38 to push India back-foot even though India eventually won the game.
