Bangladesh's spin band delivers another hit, sans leading man

The scene is all too familiar. The Bangladesh spinner rips his fingers to snap out the ball. An umbrella of close-in fielders are waiting to pounce. The overseas batter picks the ball from the hand but can't fully judge how much the ball will turn. Whether to play forward or back, he wonders. Crucially, the overseas batters doubt whether it will keep low or kick up. Except for that last part about the bounce, it was all standard stuff in Sylhet in the last four days.

Bangladesh's spinners have taken 15 wickets in this game so far. They have left their side on the verge of beating New Zealand at home for the first time with this big effort. Taijul Islam has stepped up as the attack leader in Shakib Al Hasan's absence, although he told the reporter who asked him about it not to make him into a bura (old man). Mehidy Hasan Miraz is Taijul's second fiddle, mainly playing as the team's allrounder in this game. Nayeem Hasan only ever plays home Tests. He has never bowled abroad.

The band obviously is missing the lead man, but even without Shakib, Bangladesh's spinners were lethal against New Zealand. Shakib's absence usually leaves a big hole in both the batting order and the bowling attack. Now that it happens so often, especially in Tests, the rest of the team is getting used to it. Bangladesh have done well getting back to the basics, and doing what they do best, this point especially applying for the spinners. Taijul said that he only focuses on bowling in his one spot, and then trying his variations from that point.

It was expected of the new captain Najmul Hossain Shanto to keep Taijul bowling continuously from one end. Generally an energetic personality, Shanto, however, kept things moving from both ends. He gave Taijul 20 overs but ensured the left-arm spinner kept bowling attacking lines. He allowed Shoriful to bowl six overs at the top, which Bangladeshi captains like Shakib and Mominul Haque have usually tended not to do in such situations. Shoriful picked up one wicket, keeping things tight as well.

Shanto took off Mehidy after his first over, but later gave him two spells. Mehidy took a wicket early in his second spell, removing Henry Nicholls. Taijul bowled 15 on either side of the tea break, but with always a more concentrated off-stump line, as opposed to his defensive outside off-stump line when Shakib is around.

Taijul did the job too for his captain, picking up three wickets in his first spell. After a short break, he took a wicket in his second spell. Shanto brought on Nayeem quite late on the day, but gave him an eight-over spell first, and then two more in the end. Shanto used Mominul for just two overs on the fourth day, maybe by popular choice after the part-time left-armer took three wickets in the first innings.

Taijul said that Bangladesh have a job to do even without Shakib in the team. The players know their specific roles, but it also changes according to the shape of the game. He said that when they get on top of big teams, it suggests that Bangladesh are changing from within.

"I can't do what someone else is doing, and someone else can't do what I do," Taijul said about bowling without Shakib in the attack. "I stick to my plan. Whether we have Shakib bhai or not, we have other spinners in the team. Plans change from game to game - someone takes the wickets, someone defends the runs. If I stopped the runs, Miraz or Nayeem would have taken the wickets. The main thing is, if the team is doing well.

"It is a truly different feeling to beat big teams. We haven't won the game yet but we are trying our hardest to win this game. Confidence goes up so that we can use this for the rest of the year. It suggests a change in the team. I don't know how many matches we will win but I want to do something good for the Bangladesh team."

There's so much belief in Taijul that when he came into the attack to bowl at Kane Williamson, one of the Bangladesh fielders commented that Williamson was his wicket. Taijul said that it speaks of the confidence that the team has on him, but also that he is quite strong in his own belief of his line and length.

"I guess they have faith in me that I can set (Williamson) up to take his wicket. I have been playing for nine years, you know.

"I don't really prepare in that particular way. I have only one preparation: my spot. I try to bowl in that spot, and try my variations from there," he said.

But what Taijul does, is quite difficult without the likes of Mehidy and Nayeem. Both are orthodox offspinners without any mystery deliveries but they keep batters honest on offstump. It is what they do well for long periods in a match. Of course, they have had their ups and downs, but Taijul and Mehidy have generally stepped up well when Shakib isn't around.

Mehidy, in particular, had an interesting time in the World Cup recently, when his batting was more in the limelight. He batted in several spots, which is now being discussed as one of the reasons for Bangladesh's failure in the tournament. It wasn't Mehidy's fault by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, he kept getting the runs in any position he was sent out. It probably affected his bowling a bit, but it is quite hard to knock Mehidy off his bowling spot in the last few years.

Nayeem, meanwhile, has had to rely heavily on domestic cricket for much of his international career. He has only played a handful of home Tests since his debut five years ago. It is hard to motivate oneself plugging away in the domestic grind, but he seems to enjoy it. He took 36 wickets for Chattogram Division in this season's NCL.

The spin trio had to bring their A-game in this game as this is a difficult time in Bangladesh cricket. There's lack of belief among their fans, which is reflected in the near-empty stands in all four days of the Test in Sylhet. There's likely to be a few more coming to the stadium on the fifth morning. They will surely want the three remaining New Zealand wickets to fall quickly. If it all goes to the spinners, it will be just reward for a band of bowlers who have done most of the running in this game.