Bangladesh let the opportunity of a home Test series win slip away: Player Ratings for the Hosts

Bangladesh had the golden opportunity to kickstart their 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship campaign with a series victory against New Zealand, as they had the home advantage in their favour. But the Tigers could not make the opportunity count as they were handed a four-wicket defeat in the second Test after winning the first of the two Tests by 150 runs.

Let us check out the player ratings of the Bangladesh side:

Batters

Mahmudul Hasan Joy (7/10): Mahmudul Hasan Joy was Bangladesh’s third-highest run-scorer in this series, but he will personally not be very happy with his overall outing. This is because he had the perfect start to make it big, but then went out on a whimper. He scored 110 runs in the two matches, with his average being 27.50.

The 23-year-old scored 86 runs in the first innings of the first Test, but could not score more than 8 runs in the second innings. But in Mirpur, he could barely make any impact as he got out on scores of 14 and 2 in the first and second innings respectively.

Zakir Hasan (5/10): Another young batter whom Bangladesh had a lot of faith in, Zakir Hasan had a very average outing in this series. He scored 96 runs in the two Tests, at an average of 24. Unlike Joy, Zakir did not have the best of starts as he could only score 12 runs in the first innings at the Sylhet Test.

Then in the second innings, he was equally average as he scored only 17 runs. The first innings performance in the second Test was poor too, yielding only 8 runs, but Zakir’s campaign will be remembered for his lone fight in the second innings. Under difficult circumstances and with almost no help, he scored 59 runs in the second innings of the Mirpur Test.

Najmul Hossain Shanto (8/10): Being asked to lead the side at only 25 years of age, Najmul Hossain Shanto did a good job as both a batter and a skipper. He was Bangladesh’s highest run-scorer, with 166 runs in two matches at an average of 41.50.

Najmul Hossain Shanto was the highest run-scorer for Bangladesh

The first innings of the first Test saw Shanto score a solid 37, but his real class was on display in the second innings, where he scored 105 runs. But the tricky Mirpur track got the better of him in the second Test, where he scored 9 and 15 in the two innings.

Mushiqur Rahim (7/10): Mushfiqur Rahim was not at his best in this series, but he still managed to end up as the second-highest run-scorer for Bangladesh. The wicket-keeper batter scored 123 runs in two matches, at an average of over 30.

The veteran scored only 12 runs in the first innings of the first Test but then bettered it with an impressive knock of 67 runs in the second innings. He was looking on song in the first innings at Mirpur, but when batting on 35, he was given out in a bizarre manner for obstructing the field. Then in the second innings, he scored 9 runs.

Shahadat Hossain Dipu (5/10): It would be unfair to criticize Shahadat Hossain Dipu because he was making his Test debut in this series, but the Bangladesh team management might have expected better things from the youngster than what they were offered. Dipu scored 77 runs in two Tests at an average of less than 20.

The left-handed batter scored 24 and 18 in the two innings of the first Test. His best performance came in the first innings of the second Test, scoring 31 runs on a very difficult track, but could only score four runs in the second innings.

Nurul Hasan (3/10): Nurul Hasan’s case is a weird one. While it does seem he has got potential to make it big, the wicket-keeper batter has rarely been living up to his promise in recent times. In this series, Nurul scored only 46 runs at an average of merely over 10.

Nurul’s start was not bad, as he scored 29 runs in the first innings of the first Test, but scored only 10 runs in the second innings. The second Test in Mirpur was a colossal failure, as he scored 7 runs in the first innings before getting dismissed on a duck.

All-rounders

Mominul Haque (6/10): Being among the only few experienced players in a largely young and inexperienced Bangladesh side, expectations were high for Mominul Haque. However, the 32-year-old could not live up to the expectations at all, scoring just 92 runs in the two Tests at an average of 23.

Haque got starts in both innings of the first Test, scoring 37 and 40 respectively, but he could not convert it into a big knock. In the second Test, he recorded scores of 5 and 10 across the two innings. But while his batting was poor, he did well with the ball, picking up three wickets in the first Test.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (8/10): With each passing tournament, Mehidy Hasan Miraz is proving why he is the next, and probably, the only superstar from the upcoming generation. In this series, he scored 93 runs at an average of over 30 and also picked up 8 wickets.

In the first Test, he scored a total of 70 runs which included an unbeaten half-century in the second innings. The all-rounder also picked up two wickets in that match in Sylhet. In the second Test, he could only score 23 runs across the two innings but picked up a total of six wickets.

Bowlers

Taijul Islam (9/10): Taijul Islam was undoubtedly Bangladesh’s best player in this series, as he ran rings around the New Zealand batters. The left-arm orthodox spinner picked up 15 wickets at an average of just over 20 and also chipped in with 28 runs.

Taijul Islam was Bangladesh’s best player in this series

In the first innings of the first Test, Taijul picked up four wickets but also conceded 109 runs. The performance was much better in the second innings, where he conceded just 75 runs and ended up picking as many as six wickets. In the second Test, Taijul got three wickets in the first innings and two in the second innings.

Nayeem Hasan (5/10): Bangladesh has high expectations from young off-spinner Nayeem Hasan, but they will not be satisfied with what the 23-year-old offered in this series. Nayeem picked up only 5 wickets at an average of nearly 30 but did somewhat make up for it by scoring 42 runs with the bat.

Nayeem had a poor start as he picked up just one wicket in the first innings in Sylhet, but returned to pick up the wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips in the second innings, In the second Test, he started with the wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner in the first innings, but went wicketless in the second innings.

Shoriful Islam (7/10): Shoriful Islam only got to bowl a total of 15 overs in the last three innings after completing 13 overs with the ball in hand in the first innings. The left-arm quick picked up 5 wickets apart from keeping a good economy rate.

Shoriful took the crucial wickets of Glenn Phillips, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, and Tom Latham across the series apart from being a handy No.11 batter scoring at a strike rate of more than 100 in three of the four innings.