An upbeat Bangladesh will look to hammer the final nail on the coffin when they encounter Pakistan in the second and deciding Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, starting today at 10am. The BTV, GTV and Star Sports 1 will telecast the five-dayer live.
The rampant Tigers have dominated the ongoing bilateral home series, starting from the lone ODI practice match. The home side followed it up with a whitewash in the three-ODI series and a thumping win in the solitary Twenty20 international.
There were a few doubts with the Tigers’ ability in the longer-version but they have turned it around in the Tests too as they ruled the roost in the final two days to draw the opening five-dayer in Khulna.
The Tigers’ batting department is in scintillating touch and they will be looking to put the cherry on the cake in the Dhaka Test. The series win in the ODIs was Bangladesh’s first against Pakistan and if the home side’s batsmen are able to continue exerting their influence on the opposition bowlers then the Tigers can might as well seal their maiden Test series victory against their sub-continent rival.
The Bangladesh batsmen have been on song throughout the series and the same will be expected this time. The cricket-mad supporters of the country will yet again expect great things from opener Tamim Iqbal, who is experiencing a brilliant run. Tamim bludgeoned the Pakistan bowlers in Khulna on his way to his maiden double hundred. The Chittagong lad is just 52 runs shy of overtaking Habibul Bashar as the Tigers’ highest run-scorer in Tests and few will bet against him to achieve the feat in the Dhaka Test.
Tamim’s partner, Imrul Kayes, will also be expected to deliver after his fine showing in the previous Test. The Tigers’ opening partnership created all sorts of records during their 312-run association in the second innings of the Khulna Test so they will be desperate to make the most of their good fortune in recent times.
Bangladesh top-order batsmen Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah all registered starts in the Khulna Test but were unable to score big. The trio will be looking to make it right this time.
The wicket at the home of cricket is likely to play similar to the one in Khulna. It will have ample amount of runs on it while the bowlers will get the golden opportunity to work their magic from the third day onward when cracks on the pitch will start to appear.
Given the form of the Tigers batsmen, all the bowlers need to do is be patient and bowl a tight line and length. It was not evident in the Khulna Test so they went for 628 runs in one innings alone. Despite home advantage, the Bangladesh bowlers were a mere shadow of themselves so the onus will be on the bowlers to compliment the efforts of the batsmen.
Ace all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, the leader of the bowling pack, was largely ineffective in the drawn first Test. Coupled with his batting, the maverick all-rounder had a below-par outing according to his own high standards. A lot will depend on Shakib, therefore, if the home side are to display a much-improved bowling performance. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam will continue to provide valuable support. The young spinner scalped his third five-wicket haul in the Khulna Test and if juvenile leg-spinner Jubair Hossain is named in the starting XI, then the Tigers will boast a potent trio of slow bowlers at their disposal.