Bangladesh caught in Mirpur dot-ball choke
Against New Zealand, Bangladesh played 166 dot balls. Photo: Collected
Dot, dot, dot—Bangladesh find themselves stuck in a dot-ball cycle even in modern-day aggressive cricket, especially in ODIs.
During curator Gamini de Silva’s tenure, Mirpur pitches were often criticised for turning into “farmlands,” with players repeatedly demanding better batting surfaces. In 2021, Shakib Al Hasan openly warned that such conditions could end batters’ careers if they played 10–15 matches on them.
After de Silva’s departure, pitch curator Tommy Hemming improved conditions, but Bangladesh’s dot-ball problem has persisted.
Since September 2023, Bangladesh have played only one ODI series in Mirpur against the West Indies in October last year, followed by a three-match series against Pakistan this March. The first ODI against New Zealand also took place at the same venue.
Across seven matches from these three series, Bangladesh have played a total of 973 dot balls in Mirpur. More than half of their innings deliveries have resulted in dot balls.
Against New Zealand, Bangladesh played 166 dot balls in their 291-run innings. Against the West Indies, the figures were 183, 193, and 157 dot balls across three matches. In the first ODI, Bangladesh faced 298 deliveries in a 300-ball innings, with 183 of them being dot balls—meaning only 115 balls produced runs.
In the second ODI, the number increased further by 10 dot balls. In the third match, Bangladesh still played 157 dot balls, which again accounted for more than 50 percent of the innings.
Compared to that, Bangladesh fared slightly better against Pakistan. They played 54, 78, and 142 dot balls across three matches. However, in the first ODI, Pakistan were bowled out for 114, and Bangladesh chased the target in just 15.1 overs. Even in that 91-ball innings, Bangladesh played 54 dot balls—more than 50 percent.
In the second ODI, Bangladesh were bowled out for 114, facing 78 dot balls in a 23.3-over innings. In the third match, they played 50 overs and faced 142 dot balls, which stayed below 50 percent.
During the West Indies series, opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim expressed concern, saying Bangladesh needed to reduce dot balls to ease pressure and build bigger innings. He stressed the need to find ways to minimise dot balls, especially in the middle overs.
That search continues, but even on better batting surfaces, the problem remains. Bangladesh batter Saif Hassan admitted as much after the Pakistan series, saying the wickets were true and not bad enough to use as an excuse, though slightly challenging.
