Bangladesh came to India with a lot of expectations. Having created history by beating Pakistan at its home, it seemed confident against India.
However, the touring side got a reality check as India convincingly clinched the Test series. While in the first Test in Chennai, Bangladesh lost by 180 runs, at the Green Park on Tuesday, the home team clinched a seven-wicket win despite two days of abandonment of play due to rain and a poor outfield.
While batting let the team down, Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe also admitted that it has been quite a learning experience for his team. “Batting has been disappointing. We have not been performing to our potential in the last few series,” Hathurusinghe said.
“Another factor is also the quality of the opposition, and the skill level on display in this series was very high, and we are learning a lot from here. Going forward, we will know what the top standard is, since this is the best team (you can play against). Playing India is the toughest assignment at this stage, so we know how much we need to improve,” he added.
In both the innings, the Bangladesh batters - barring Mominul Haque and Shadman Islam - could not show resilience.
“Defeat is really hurting us, it’s because of our performance,” Hathurusinghe said, adding that the visiting team was taken aback by India’s approach after almost three days of play were lost.
“This approach was not seen before and we did not react quickly and credit to Rohit and his team for taking such an approach and making a game out of it…”
Asked whether there are plans to promote Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das up the order, the coach said, “Moving Mushi and Litton up in the order is not something we have discussed. Litton kept wickets and this time, he batted at No. 5, that’s the highest we can promote him…”
Doubts remain on whether Shakib Al Hasan played his last Test in Kanpur. With the Bangladesh interim government indicating that Shakib, who was a Member of Parliament during the Awami League regime, needs to clear his political stance before claiming for security to feature in his final Test against South Africa at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, there is a strong buzz that he might not eventually return to Dhaka.
But Hathurusinghe ducked the question, saying, “I am not sure, but as far as I know, he will be playing the Test against South Africa…”
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