Dav savours best day

8-UP MACGILL: Australia leg-spinner Stuart MacGill is elated after dismissing Bangladesh wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud on the second day of the first Test on Monday. PHOTO: STAR

The cricket world will be watching intently as proceedings unfold over the next three days at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium. And this because of Bangladesh's unexpected challenge that has put the Aussies on the ropes at the end of the second day's play in the first Test on Monday.

It is uncommon in modern cricket to see Australia being dominated over two entire days, much less by the minnows from Bangladesh.

So there was every reason to be delighted for members of the Bangladesh team. But Tigers coach Dav Whatmore, ever the professional, played down the excitement with some chosen words and said that the team still have a long way to go despite being in an advantageous position.

"The situation as it stands now puts Bangladesh very much on top of this game. So barring any major mishap in the batting in the second innings or our bowling we are very much in the driving seat," said Whatmore when asked to evaluate the situation.

"Its obviously number one playing against number ten but from the first day when we scored 355 with five still remaining we were in a pretty good position. And now the immediate goal is that we have to get the remaining wickets," the Sri Lankan-born Australian said.

Whatmore was pragmatic when asked to comment on the good performance of Bangladesh and also ruled out Ponting's comment playing a part in the Bangladesh brilliant performance.

"We aim to go out there and do our best …I just feel we are proving a point. Cricket here is focused at the moment and we are carrying on a lot of confidence from our series against Sri Lanka and Kenya… We have batted and bowled well," he explained.

However, the Bangladesh coach admitted that it was probably his best day since taking over the coaching reigns three years ago.

"I have been happy with ODI cricket so far but what happened today was a rare sight in my tenure in the longer-version game. Given the opposition we have played against… so far in Tests… I must say that I am very pleased and satisfied," he said.

Whatmore also ruled out underestimation on the part of the Aussies.

"I am not sure if it was really underestimation. As I have said all along I think it has to do with adjustment. They have played a lot of cricket in the last six months and came here from South Africa and Australia after gruelling tour," he opined.

When he was asked weather the Tigers' two days performance surpassed his expectation, he said "We surpassed the expectations only in the first hour or so after our initial projection. But we keep reassessing our objective throughout the game and we have manage to do things correctly."

"We are enjoying the situation and we should continue to enjoy the situation," said the coach but he also warned of an Aussie backlash. "A long way to go yet. You cant win a game in a session but you can go a long way to losing a game in a session. It is important to continue to do things correctly," he added.