Mehidy Hasan's Batting Brilliance and Najmul Hossain Shanto's Calm Innings Propel Bangladesh to a Commanding Victory.

Long and patient partnerships have been somewhat scarce in recent times, with T20 cricket series and leagues taking center stage in the past few months. However, the onset of the Asia Cup has reintroduced us to some memorable partnerships. Whether it’s the commanding performance of Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed against Nepal or the crisis-solving collaboration of Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya against Pakistan, noteworthy partnerships have become a highlight of the tournament and yesterday’s display was no exception.

While Mehidy Hasan has long been acknowledged for his precision as a bowler, his batting abilities have often taken a back seat. However, since the year 2022, there has been a noticeable shift in his batting performance. In ODIs, he has maintained an average of 34 with a striking rate approaching 80, underscoring his growing proficiency with the bat. The last time he opened the innings for Bangladesh dates back to the 2018 Asia Cup finals against India. In that memorable match, he partnered brilliantly with Litton Das, contributing a valuable 32 runs to the team’s cause.

Fast forward to 5 years from then, Bangladesh provided a similar role to Mehidy ahead of their must win match against Afghanistan. After the loss of 2 wickets within the 10 over mark, he was joined in by Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has been one of the pillars of Bangladesh’s batting for the past couple of years. Together, they knitted a brilliant 194 run stand and ensure that Afghanistan are provided with a monumental task in hand.

In this article, we will breakdown this partnership by delving into a phase wise analysis.

See Also: Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya’s Remarkable Partnership Rescues India from an Early Crisis – Cricket Winner

See Also: Key Statistical Insights from the 4th Match of the Asia Cup: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan – Cricket Winner

Mehidy hasan and Najmul Shanto’s record breaking stand

Both the batters did start off on a slow note due to the fall of two quick wickets, but they tried to maintain a healthy run rate by scoring boundaries of mediocre deliveries. Within the first 40 balls, while they did have a good boundary percentage, their dot percentage was equally high which in turn resulted in their low non boundary strike rate. But once the spinners started to bowl at tandem in the middle overs, the two batters kept rotating the strike frequently and ensured that the frequency in dot balls reduced. This is further backed by their high non boundary strike rate in the next 40 deliveries.

After both batsmen had established themselves at the crease, they began to actively seek ways to boost the run rate by accumulating more boundaries. This intent is reflected in the rise in their boundary percentage from the 81st to the 140th delivery of their partnership. However, their focus on finding the fence didn’t deter them from capitalizing on quick singles and twos, as their non-boundary strike rate remained impressively high.

While their last phase was only about 10 deliveries, they maximized the scoring rate and had a strike rate of 240 in the last phase. It was cut short due to the niggle that Mehidy Hasan picked up in his long stay at the crease. The remarkable partnership resulted in Bangladesh posting an imposing total of 334 runs, a target that proved insurmountable for Afghanistan to chase down.