Bangladesh team’s technical director Khaled Mahmud said they need to work on their fielding after missed opportunities by the Tigers marked day two and three of their first Test match against Sri Lanka at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Cricket Stadium in the port city Friday.
First innings centurion Kusal Mendis was dropped multiple times while wicket-keeper Liton Das missed the opportunity to affect a stumping against Roshen Silva Friday.
“It would have been better if we took those chances. The catch went through them in the slips, it would have been easier had it gone to hand. We missed a run-out chance. We could have fielded better, caught better,” said Mahmud in the post-day press conference.
“We have certainly worked on slip catching during the training camp. We only have two slip fielders in our setup but they work hard. We tried Sanjamul [Islam] at third slip or gully. It is important to have specialist fielders in Tests which every team has. But we should definitely work more on them,” he added.
The Lankans posted 504 runs for the loss of just three wickets in their first innings, trailing the home side’s tally by nine runs ahead of the fourth and penultimate day’s play Saturday.
“Sri Lanka are in a better position. [Saturday] is very important for us to see how quickly we can bowl them out and then bat well in the second innings. I think a lot will depend on how the wicket plays on the fourth day. I believe that it still hasn’t deteriorated that much at this stage,” he said.
“I don’t know how long the wicket will last. But we have to do it within five days. I am hoping the wicket will stay well for our second innings,” he added.
