After facing a massive defeat in the first Test match against India, Bangladesh is trying to bounce back in the second match. On September 27, Bangladesh will face India in the second Test at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Before the match, Shakib Al Hasan stated that playing in India is the toughest Test challenge. He emphasized that the quality of the home team diminishes the impact of the pitch conditions on the game’s outcome.
Shakib on India’s Dominance:
The first Test match of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh was a pure thriller. Even after the failure of India’s top order, the home team bounced back. After playing a dominating game while batting, Bangladesh struggled in front of the Indian bowling. As a result of that, they faced a massive defeat of 280 runs. That was a huge setback.
While talking about India’s dominance, veteran Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said, “If you look at other countries, every now and then they will lose one or two games. But in India, you hardly see them losing in Test matches. So yes, I would say you are right.”
Later he added, “We won against them in the ODI series in Bangladesh, we were very close to win a game against them in a Test match in Bangladesh. In Test cricket, we haven’t got the success that we are looking for. Tomorrow we will have another opportunity.”
While reflecting in their previous performance, Shakib said, “I thought in patches we played really well in Chennai. But having said that, finishing the match in three-and-a-half days wasn’t ideal for us. We felt like we were a better team than that. So, we need to show that in tomorrow’s match.”
Comparing India and Pakistan:
Bangladesh entered into the Test series after their historic Test series win over Pakistan. In that two-match Test series, the Tigers dominated the men in green and whitewashed them on their home ground. The entire Bangladeshi lineup showcased exceptional form and kept the domination alive throughout the series.
While talking about this, the Bangladeshi all-rounder said, “Pakistan is a relatively new team. In experience, I would say, if you look at the matches they played and if you look at our team and the matches we have played, we have got more experience than them. And in Test cricket I think that is a massive factor.”
Angad Bedi and Neha Dhupia Honor Bishan Singh Bedi’s Legacy with Trust Revamp
Shakib compared them with India. While comparing both neighbors, he said, “If I talk about India, they are the number one team in the World Championship at this moment. They are probably unbeatable at home. I saw a stat somewhere where for some 4000 days they have been unbeaten in India. So, that shows how good they are in India.”
While praising the Indian side, he added, “They have been doing well outside India as well. Any country that came to India finding it difficult, we are no different there. But having said that, we have to play really well against them to be able to show the fight that we feel like we can put on.”
On the Conditions of the second Test:
The Green Park Stadium, Kanpur is all set to host the second Test match between India and Bangladesh. As per reports, the track is set to help the spinners. The Bangladeshi spinners might manage some early advantages on that pitch. When he was asked this, he replied, “When you play against a team like India, Australia, England, pitches don’t matter much because they will obviously have their weapon with which they can attack us.”
Lastly, he added, “They will have quality spinners, they will have quality fast bowlers, they will have quality batsmen. So, I don’t think pitch will have any effect. It’s just we have to perform better than what we have done in Chennai.”
Later he urged the Bangladeshi batters to score big. He said, “If I talk about batting only, I think there has been an improvement. If you see from the first innings to the second innings. First innings we bowled out for about 150.”
Later he added, “In the second innings, we scored about 250. If we can score 350, somewhere there, I think that will be a huge improvement. And 350 to 400 on first innings will give us a lot of confidence and the dressing room will feel a lot more comfortable.”
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and Instagram
