Having won against Pakistan in two consecutive Tests, Bangladesh were expected to challenge India in Chennai in a stronger way. But they failed, losing the first match of the two-match series by a big margin of 280 runs.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said the batters needed to step up for good results, but they couldn`t. He hopes the batters will play their merit in the next match in Kanpur.
Bangladesh`s first surprising move was deciding to bowl first after winning the toss, an act not seen in Chennai since 1982. Najmul said they were hoping to use the wicket`s moisture early in the morning.
Bangladesh fielded three pacers in their side, a decision that yielded a good result in Pakistan. This surely prompted them to do the same in India, expecting the same result. However, in the end, the decision did not work well.
Sanjay Manjrekar, an Indian cricket expert and former cricketer, feels a three-pacer attack is not ideal against India. He suggests that Bangladesh would have benefited from including another spinner instead, given India`s discomfort against spin when the pitch has a bit of turn.
“When you play in India, you don’t want to play three seamers,” Sanjay said as an expert for ESPNcricinfo. “Even if you get a green pitch on day one, by day three or four, the pitch is more conducive to spin, encouraging spin more. So I think two (seamers) are enough.”
Sanjay also said he sees Taijul Islam making a place in the next Text which will kick off on September 27th in Kanpur.
The former Indian cricketer also said the lean show of Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das is something that he would like to see improvement.
“Shakib, Mushfqiur Rahim… I know they are not young as they have been around for a long time, but when a marquee series comes along, they must be mentally tougher, especially Mushfiqur and Litton Das too,” Sanjay said.
Before this series, Mushfiqur batted at an average of over 50 against India. But in the last Test in Chennai, he failed to respond when the team required him most.
In the first innings of the Chennai Test, India posted 376 thanks to the sixth Test ton by Ravichandran Ashwin. Despite India scoring a big total, Hasan Mahmud of Bangladesh managed to grab some part of the spotlight for his second five-for, which was also the first five-for by a Bangladeshi bowler against India.
The pacers have been sparking over the last few series for Bangladesh, but the batters were inconsistent. They replied with a small total of 149 in their first innings, but pushed them to the back seat, from where they never recovered. A 227-run lead in the first innings, handed the steering wheel of the match to India.
So for a good result in the second Test in Kanpur, Bangladeshi batters must perform according to plan. If they fail again to do so, they will have little to carry forward from this series.
