Image Credit- ICC
First balls may be ominous occasions, serving as the
starting point for tales that define whole games and series. Ashes-opening
Gabba Tests have frequently started with balls like these: in 1994–1995 Michael
Slater crashed Phil DeFreitas to the point boundary, 12 years later Steve
Harmison whung down a wide to slip, and in 2021–22 Mitchell Starc bowled Rory
Burns behind his back.
Although the opening kickoff of Bangladesh’s and New
Zealand’s World Cup match on Friday won’t nearly enter legend in the same way,
it nonetheless served as a symbol of the event.
When Litton Das approached Trent Boult from his
crease, he was met with an inswinging half-volley on his legs. Similar to the
ball Jonny Bairstow smashed for six in Ahmedabad to start the tournament, this
juicy, hittable ball was something of a gift from Boult to Litton on his 29th
birthday. Matt Henry made a superb running grab on the boundary after Litton
timed his flip almost as sweetly but a little finer.
Litton didn’t do much wrong; he and the majority of
international batters would have expected to hit the ball for six. It might
have avoided the fine-leg fielder on another day if it had travelled a bit
further or at a little different angle.
But Litton’s day wasn’t going to be this one.
Bangladesh was not to own it either. They, like him, made few mistakes during
the game, but the cards just didn’t go in their favour.
In cricket, luck is a touchy subject that can either
be overplayed (as when a player’s performance is attributed to a single missed
opportunity or umpiring error) or underplayed (as is frequently the case when
two batters play risky shots early in their innings and one of them survives
longer and scores heavily, receiving credit for better judgement than the
other, who unfortunately succumbed to an early nick). Some fans appear to worry
when the topic of luck is brought up because they think doing so somehow
minimises the players’ abilities.
That is not the situation. On Friday, New Zealand was
by much the superior team, and their triumph was fully earned. They performed
an excellent job of reading the situation and refrained from using a second
frontline spinner despite the venue’s lengthy history.
However, Bangladesh understood the situation just as
well. Mahedi Hasan, their second offspinner, appeared to be the ideal player
for this match in the lead-up. New Zealand had four left-handed hitters in
their lineup in Chepauk, one of the tournament’s locations known for being the
most spin-friendly in recent history. However, Bangladesh chose to play
Mahmudullah as the extra batter while leaving Mahedi out.
And Bangladesh still have five competent bowlers since
they have two true all-round spinners. They actually started their defence of
245 in a very spectacular manner, creating almost as much difficulty as New
Zealand’s bowlers had with the new and semi-new ball. None of them bowled
poorly that day. In the first 15 overs of their innings, Bangladesh played 27
incorrect shots and lost four wickets as a result. 24 incorrect shots were made
by New Zealand, who also lost one wicket. It just wasn’t Bangladesh’s day
This was the kind of game where Bangladesh desperately
needed a bit of luck to fall their way. It refused to, resolutely, and Litton’s
sweetly timed but ill-fated flick proved a sure sign of what was to come.