Bangladesh batsmen are often criticised for gifting away their wickets and are said to lack the mindset and patience needed to bat in Test cricket. However, the picture was a rare one on the first day of the second Test against Zimbabwe in Khulna as the hosts posted 193 runs with seven wickets intact.
The day’s run-rate – 2.24 – pretty much explains how Bangladesh batted as the batsmen carefully selected their shots and hardly chased or made contact between the bat and ball unnecessarily.
The slow batting might have bored the crowd in the stadium, but Mahmudullah believes they are on the right track and they batted naturally.
“A wicket less would have looked better but still I think we were able to meet our target which was to bat naturally,” said Mahmudullah during the post-day media conference yesterday.
“The wicket was little slow and it was hard to score runs on it, but we played according to our plans. The first session will be vital for us tomorrow (today) but we are happy that we have good number of wickets in hand,” he added.
Tamim Iqbal was the most surprising package on the day as the hard hitting southpaw wore a defensive look and finished the day with 26 runs away from what will be a magnificent comeback into form. He was unbeaten on 74 from 250 balls – the highest number of balls he ever faced in an innings.
“I think he batted very well today, he played 250 balls. He might have had reached his century if he had played his own game which is aggressive. I think he worked very hard the whole day and batted respecting the behaviour of the wicket,” said Mahmudullah before adding, “Actually their bowlers were bowling at very good areas and it was tough to score runs. One had to wait for the bad deliveries as hurrying can cost you your wicket. So considering these facts I think our batsman were choosy with their shots, hope we start from where we left today (yesterday).”
Mahmudullah, who scored 56 – his fourth half-century in his last six Test innings – believes the first session today will be vital and the flow of the game will literally depend on it.
“This will depend on how many wickets we lose in the first session tomorrow (today). The runs might come quick if we play positive and then go aggressive if needed.
“We now want to bat as long possible and score may be 400-450 runs in the first innings,” said the former national vice-captain.