Hosts Bangladesh will look to better their batting approach on day four of the ongoing first Test against Zimbabwe at Sylhet International Stadium (SIS) on Tuesday. With two days and 10 wickets in hand, the Tigers face a difficult task of chasing 295 runs and register their first Test victory since August 2017. The last time the Tigers celebrated a win in the format was against Australia in Dhaka last year.
Bangladesh finished the day three without any damage as both openers Liton Das and Imrul Kayes played it safe in 10.1 overs to put 26 runs and shorten the target. However, given the horror-show of getting all-out with just 143 run on the board in the first innings, and of consecutively getting all-out below 200 runs in last seven innings, the expectation of a from the home side remains a big question. Then there is fact that 215 runs against West Indies in 2009 has so far been Bangladesh’s highest successful chase in the longest format.
Tigers’ head coach Steve Rhodes insisted they can put an extraordinary effort to make it to the record books but have to come strong addressing their mistakes in the first innings.
“I think the dressing room is quietly confident. They recognise that we have to reach the highest score in the game, which doesn’t happen often. We certainly are ready to bat a bit better in the second innings. I was very pleased with Imrul and Liton for providing a bit of a platform. We have to go again tomorrow,’’ said Rhodes to the media at SIS following day three on Monday.
“Today, we set a task to win the game, believe it or not, by winning five sessions. The first one was bit of a draw and I felt it wasn’t a great start for us today. We won the second two. We are on the way, and the plan will be to try and win those sessions tomorrow. The good thing is, it is not a raging turner. It is not turning every ball. The odd ball turns. As long as you don’t let that worry you too much, you can certainly play against spin on that wicket,’’ the former English cricketer added.
Rhodes emphasized the effort by Imrul and Liton on the near end of day against opposition bowlers who had done well in the first innings by showing ways of scoring the needed runs.
“Today Liton and Imrul showed that they were very capable against two bowlers who did very well in the first innings. If you can get through those bowlers, there are definitely ways of scoring those runs. We are looking at couple of very good partnerships. If we can achieve it, we can win the game. Chasing a score that is the highest score in the game is very difficult but it is achievable,” Rhodes explained.
