Bangladesh’s Nasir Hossain has been unbeaten on 13 for three days of the second Test against South Africa now. However, that does not make the batsman feel better as the monsoon season continued to dominate in its usual manner with the home side locked on 246/8 from 88.1 overs in their first innings.
After losing two days in the first Test in Chittagong, it was the third consecutive day washed out in the ongoing Dhaka Test,
taking the tally of rain-affected days in the series to five. Another dull draw and a shared series does not make the players feel any good either as Mahmudullah sees this as a missed opportunity to play the top-ranked Test nation.
“At breakfast [yesterday] I was talking to Imrul [Kayes] about what would have happened had the match taken place properly. We (team mates) sometimes talk about such things. We usually spend time in our hotel room but when we are together, we talk cricket. We share ideas,” Mahmudullah told the media at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
He continued, “He (Nasir) told me in the morning that he is not liking the situation. He has been not out for two days! We all want to play but we have to face the circumstances. Let’s see what happens [today].”
“It would have helped us immensely had there been 10 days of cricket, whether we won, lost or drew the matches. We would have played 10 days against the best team in the world, and test our skills against them,” said Mahmudullah.
If it’s a crime for a batsman to get out after getting set in the middle, then Mahmudullah is among the four Bangladeshi batsmen who committed the crime in the match. The tall right-hander scored 35 before becoming Dale Steyn’s 401st victim in the longer-version.
“I think everyone understands the need to take the opportunities. It is always hard to score the first 20-30 runs. It is the major hurdle. Then one has to play normally. Three-four of us got out in the 30s and 40s. I think it is a big crime. We have to find out, by speaking in groups and individually, how we can get out of this. I am sure we can get out of this quickly,” he said.
