‘We were progressing’: Emon rues momentum shift as Australia win T20I series

The chase was on, but Bangladesh fell short by just seven runs in the second T20I at Chattogram yesterday as Australia clinched the series 2-0 with a match to go.

Given the conditions in the second T20I, it was a good litmus test for where the Tigers are in the game’s shortest version, especially in chasing down a score against a big side.

In pursuit of Australia’s 195 for six, Bangladesh produced a strong display in the Powerplay, scoring 72 and had the ammunition to gun down the total. But no one produced a fifty as Tigers’ momentum slipped from a favourable position, leading to a narrow loss.

Tanzid Tamim and Saif Hassan went into the attack right away in the chase to take Bangladesh to 33 for nought in two overs, before Tanzid’s soft dismissal after a 15-ball 30 posed the first signs of trouble. Soumya Sarkar, despite looking good, once again fell trying to clear the long-on boundary off Adam Zampa after a 9-ball 15.

Parvez Hossain Emon, at two-down, took on the Australia spinners, hitting back-to-back sixes off Zampa as the hosts kept the chase alive. The Emon-Saif duo added 53 from 36 deliveries before Tigers allowed Australia back into the game. Emon, trying to take on Aaron Hardie, mistimed his shot in the 13th over as Mitchell Marsh ran back to take a brilliant catch.

The Australia skipper’s celebration at Emon’s dismissal after a 22-ball 36 showed what it meant to the visitors. Next over, Saif, having bided his time playing second fiddle, fell to an awkward shot, holed at cover chasing a wide delivery after a 33-ball 42.

Needing 67 from 44, momentum was lost with two new batters coming in. Matt Renshaw, who batted Australia out of trouble with a 52-ball 89, showed what Tigers lacked in their innings.

“We were actually progressing according to our plan. I felt that our biggest setback was losing Saif bhai's wicket back-to-back. We fell a bit behind there,” Emon said.

Before the series, Bangladesh have been undergoing an upsurge in T20Is, losing just one of their last seven series and drawing another. A few nuances can set them into the right track.

“To chase such a target, you actually need a big score… I feel if any one of us could have converted those 30s or 40s into a big score, we could have chased the target easily,” Emon relayed.

Between overs 13 to 17, Bangladesh added just 25 runs, losing three wickets as Shamim Hossain too departed trying to accelerate.

Tawhid Hridoy, meanwhile, was off to a somewhat slow start with wickets falling around him, but he could not quite match the required acceleration alongside Abdul Gaffar Saqlain -- playing just his second international game. Needing 23 off the last over, they fell short, with Hridoy falling off the last delivery after a 22-ball 35.

“We played really good cricket, but there are a couple of areas we need to develop,” Hridoy said at the post-match presentation.

“Those who are set need to carry on a little bit more for the team,” he added, but recognised that they have “to chase down in this kind of match” as the Tigers look to continue improvement curve.