Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan admitted they didn’t bat well in the first innings against India at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chhatogram after losing by a huge margin of 188 runs. The Tigers could only manage 150 runs in the first dig and conceded a huge lead of 254 runs after India posted 404 runs on the baord.
Mushfiqur Rahim top-scored with 28 runs but none of the other batters could get going against the Indian attack. No batter could go past the 30-run mark in the first innings for the home team as Indian bowlers were right on the money.
Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the Indian bowlers as he scalped his third five-wicket haul. Yadav returned with figures of 5-40, which is his best in Test matches whereas Mohammed Siraj also took three wickets in the first essay.
The wicket wasn’t easy to bat on in the first innings as the ball was turning square and there was also help for the seamers. However, Bangladesh batters couldn’t show any resistance with the bat and they were bundled out inside 56 overs.
On the other hand, it was a much better batting performance from the Shakib Al Hasan-led team in the second innings. The home team scored 324 runs as debutant Zakir Hasan scored a fine century but the Tigers had too much to do in the end.
Shakib Al Hasan said in the post-match presentation, “It was a really good wicket to bat on but we didn’t bat well (in the first innings). Playing after 5-6 months, it wasn’t ideal for us but there shouldn’t be any excuse. We identified our mistakes and tried our best in the second innings. A lot of credit to India for the way they bowled. They bowled into partnerships and created a lot of pressure. (On Zakir Hasan) He has been scoring a lot of runs in domestic cricket, that’s why the selectors picked him. Hopefully, he scores a lot more centuries for Bangladesh. We have to play good cricket for all five days if we want to win a Test match. We have to play four good innings to be able to get a result, especially against India.”
Bangladesh would have been disappointed with their batting effort in the first innings and it led to their downfall.
The hosts would want to come up with a better show in the second Test. The second game will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka from December 22.
