Mominul Haque sat with an empty look on his face in the Bangladesh dressing room minutes after his dismissal on the fifth day of the second Kanpur Test. Such empty looks have been a common sight among the visitors during this Test series where Bangladesh have been comprehensively out-thought by India.
Mominul had employed the sweep productively in the first innings on his way to an unbeaten 107. But in the second dig, Rohit Sharma moved KL Rahul to leg-slip as an aggressive move. Within three balls, the fielding change paid off for India and the sweep brought about Mominul's fall.
India have almost been unbeatable at home for the last 12 years. But that hasn't allowed complacency to seep into their system. Instead, they have looked like a team that plans meticulously, and more importantly, executes those plans with precision. How Bangladesh responded to their approach was, however, disappointing.
Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe didn't see anything wrong in Mominul playing the sweep shot, but said that his side's decision-making and execution were found wanting on the fifth day in Kanpur.
"We didn't talk about survival [on the fifth day]," Hathurusinghe said after Bangladesh went down seven wickets. "We thought of playing according to the conditions and strength of the individuals. If you defend and get caught at bat-pad, it is the same when getting out sweeping on a wicket like this. If the batsman thinks his best form of defence or getting off strike, is a sweep shot rather than the defensive shot, that's his option.
"Execution probably let us down in this [second] innings. If you look at Mominul yesterday, he swept really well. I am sure they are disappointed at some of the dismissals and the decision-making. What stands out for me is that we lost a wicket when there's been a bowling change. We didn't give ourselves enough time to get used to the new bowler."
Mominul walking into India's trap was typical of Bangladesh's batters during this Test series. They have generally fallen in three scenarios. India's well-planned traps were one thing, but the Bangladesh batters also hastily attacked a bowler early in his spell, and there were instances of losing concentration after seeing off a mini battle. There were examples of all three during the fifth day in Kanpur.
Of the three times Mushfiqur fell to Jasprit Bumrah in the Test series, his dismissal in the first innings in Kanpur was a well-thought-out plan. He packed the slip cordon which prevented Mushfiqur from playing at away-going deliveries. Bumrah then slipped a length ball that decked in, which Mushfiqur left like he was leaving the other deliveries.
It wasn't just Mushfiqur among the experienced lot to fall for such plans. Litton Das giving Rohit a catch at mid-off in the first innings was India trying to make him do something out of the ordinary. Litton could have seen off Mohammed Siraj's spell, but instead charged the bowler, and although Rohit took a great catch, the shot was a result of a set plan. Shakib Al Hasan miscuing a heave against R Ashwin on the fourth day, the ball after hitting him for a four over extra cover, was another example.
Shakib charged out of the crease again, which Ashwin definitely saw coming, so he bowled it slightly quicker but with a bit of dip on the ball and the allrounder fell into the trap.
Bangladesh's batters were also guilty of haste. Perhaps they didn't want the Indian bowlers to execute their plans, but their choice of shot was confusing. On the fifth day in Kanpur, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto missed a reverse-sweep off the first ball he faced from Ravindra Jadeja. The shot felt unnecessary at the time and sparked a collapse after a 55-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Hathurusinghe, however, said the reverse sweep was always on given how much the batters practice it, especially when they see it as an option on a spinning pitch. "[Playing the reverse sweep] is an individual and team plan as well. We are playing on a spinning wicket," he said. "If the defence is getting challenged, it is a strategy to play the reverse sweep if you have practiced hard on the shot."
Falling just after seeing off a good spell or after batting well for a short period also brought about plenty of headaches in both Tests. Bangladesh's last wicket in Kanpur was of Mushfiqur trying to slog Bumrah off the last ball before lunch.
Shadman Islam had earlier fallen just after getting to his half-century with Sunil Gavaskar on air pointing out that the opener played a shot of a batter who got relaxed after reaching a milestone. He remarked that Shadman might not have played the shot, having shown control against deliveries outside the off stump all morning, if he hadn't reached his fifty.
Hathurusinghe agreed that the top-order had to make better decisions in the upcoming Test series against South Africa at home. "We don't have much time to make drastic changes, " he said. "We have to improve our execution and decision-making. We will be playing on different surfaces back home. We have to take it into account, and the opposition bowlers."
A cluster of wickets falling after a bit of a recovery isn't just the top order's problem. The middle order suffered from it, too. Litton and Shakib played needless shots after getting Bangladesh out of trouble with a decent partnership in the first innings in Chennai. Litton was caught in the deep while Shakib miscued a reverse sweep. In the second innings, Zakir Hasan and Shadman saw off a testing period in the second innings, before falling to tame dismissals.
Bangladesh's lack of fight in the two Tests was disappointing. They lost in three-and-a-half days in Chennai, while lasing technically just under two days in Kanpur. They had arrived in India on the back of a historic 2-0 win against Pakistan.
This 2-0 defeat against India doesn't necessarily cancel out their good showing in Pakistan, but it rams home the point that Bangladesh are a side still short of competing against top sides consistently. They weren't expected to win 2-0 in Pakistan but they applied themselves in the best possible way. They, however, couldn't withstand India's heightened challenge, and now have to go back to the drawing board before the home series against South Africa later this month.