October 2005 - Bangladesh Tour of Sri Lanka
Sinhalese v Bangladesh - Draw
Sinhalese: 337 (Islam 6/96, Rashid 1/33)
Bangladesh: 196 (Rahman 53, Bashar 42)
Sinhalese: 3/141 dec (A Sunny 3/40)
Bangladesh: 5/156 (Ahmed 48*, Ahmed 28*)
1st Test - Sri Lanka v Bangladesh - Sri Lanka by 144 runs
Sri Lanka: 568 (Islam 7/155, Rashid 2/95)
Bangladesh: 394 (Rahman 135, Bashar 85)
Sri Lanka: 6/224 dec (Rafique 3/68, Islam 3/74)
Bangladesh: 254 (Ahmed 46, Rafique 39)
Beaten with ease by Sri Lanka. The game was over after Sri Lanka managed to last 190 overs in the first innings. The batting held out well, but with the pitch becoming tougher as the match went on a target of near 400 was too much.
2nd Test - Sri Lanka v Bangladesh - Draw
Bangladesh: 424 (Rahman 106, Islam 71)
Sri Lanka: 298 (Islam 4/78, Rafique 3/76)
Bangladesh: 226 (Bashar 50, Islam 45)
Sri Lanka: 6/175 (Shahzada 2/17, Islam 2/53)
A drawn result is good considering we are playing away to Sri Lanka, but this was our match to win. We had Sri Lanka at 5/122 in the first innings, but they managed to avoid the follow on and then survive on a wearing final day track.
Overall a good showing by Bangladesh in this series. Rahman has managed to lock the openers spot after twin centuries in this series. Otherwise only one or two positions are up for grabs in the Test squad.
1st ODI - Sri Lanka v Bangladesh - Sri Lanka by 73 runs
Sri Lanka: 7/266 (Shahzada 3/61, Rafique 2/56)
Bangladesh: 8/193 (Ahmed 66, Islam 52)
2nd ODI - Sri Lanka v Bangladesh - Bangladesh by 4 wickets
Sri Lanka: 7/175 (Islam 2/24, Shahzada 2/40)
Bangladesh: 6/176 (Ahmed 58*, Saleh 35)
3rd ODI - Sri Lanka v Bangladesh - Sri Lanka by 154 runs
Sri Lanka: 3/304 (Shahzada 1/54, A Sunny 1/62)
Bangladesh: 150 (Abedin 66, Ahmed 14)
Beaten 2-1 in the ODI series. The common problem with my Bangladesh side is attempting to force the run-rate, anything greater than 4 and the lineup will crumble. Shahzada was impressive and is likely to be given every opportunity until the 2007 World Cup.
February 2006 - Zimbabwe tour of Bangladesh
1st Test - Bangladesh v Zimbabwe - Draw
Zimbabwe: 358 (Rafique 3/50, E Sunny 2/74)
Bangladesh: 592 (Bashar 94, Ahmed 74)
Zimbabwe: 9/317 (Shahzada 3/42, Rafique 3/117)
A boring draw. The pitch retained its flatness throughout, and my bowlers lacked the bite to run through this Zimbabwe team.
2nd Test - Bangladesh v Zimbabwe Bangladesh by 9 wickets
Bangladesh: 524 (E Sunny 133, Rafique 87)
Zimbabwe: 202 (Rafique 6/52, E Sunny 2/47)
Zimbabwe: 361 (Rafique 6/136, Islam 2/82)
Bangladesh: 1/40 (Rahmen 19*, Abedin 13)
Rafique has lead Bangladesh to a massive win. 12 wickets for the match and 87 runs scored with the bat. Bangladesh win the series 1-0, the expected result.
1st ODI - Bangladesh v Zimbabwe - Bangladesh by 7 wickets
Zimbabwe: 8/165 (Islam 3/30, A Sunny 2/23)
Bangladesh: 3/166 (Bashar 59*, Rahman 56)
2nd ODI - Bangladesh v Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe by 5 wickets
Bangladesh: 8/206 (Abedin 94*, Bashar 42)
Zimbabwe: 5/209 (E Sunny 2/21, Rafique 1/41)
3rd ODI - Bangladesh v Zimbabwe - Bangladesh by 6 wickets
Zimbabwe: 7/165 (Rafique 2/31, Islam 2/36)
Bangladesh: 4/166 (Rahman 69, Bashar 50)
2-1 result. A tight game in the second ODI, otherwise an easy series victory. The tactic for this side is undoubtedly to restrict the opposition with spin and then cling on with the bat towards the target.
2005/2006 Season Summary
Tests: Two series wins, one series loss
Batsmen:
Bashar: 537 runs @ 59.67
Islam: 536 runs @ 59.56
Rahman: 469 runs @ 46.90
Ahmed: 364 runs @ 36.40
Ahmed: 325 runs @ 40.62
Bowlers:
Rafique: 38 wickets @ 26.18
Islam: 31 wickets @ 30.90
A Sunny: 14 wickets @ 46.93
Shahzada: 9 wickets @ 26.44
N Rashid: 7 wickets @ 49.86
ODI's: One series win, one runner-up, one loss
Batsmen:
Rahman: 493 runs @ 44.82
Bashar: 425 runs @ 35.42
Abedin: 363 runs @ 45.25
Islam: 251 runs @ 27.89
Ahmed: 207 runs @ 25.87
Bowlers:
Islam: 17 wickets @ 28.12
Rafique: 15 wickets @ 31.47
A Sunny: 14 wickets @ 38.36
Mortaza: 9 wickets @ 36.22
Shahzada: 8 wickets @ 35.37