Tigers staring down the barrell

Back in 2001, Bangladesh embarked on their maiden tour of New Zealand and the first two days of the first Test against the hosts were washed out without a ball being bowled. Over the next three days of play, the visitors went on to lose the match by an innings and 52 runs.

Eighteen long years have gone by since then and the Tigers have come a long way in the longest format of the game in terms of experience, but they are yet again in a similar situation against New Zealand with talk of their learning curve still doing the rounds.

After the first two days were washed out, Bangladesh were on the verge of losing the second Test within three days of play in Wellington. Bangladesh, who were struggling on 80 for three and trailing by 141 runs in their second innings at the end of the fourth day's play yesterday, now face the daunting task of batting the entire fifth day to salvage the match.

Bangladesh already lost the in-form and dependable Tamim Iqbal cheaply for the first time in the Test series. Mohammad Mithun and Soumya Sarkar will resume on the final day on 25 and 12 respectively.

The tour of New Zealand has not gone well at all for the Tigers after a comprehensive innings and 52-run defeat in the first Test in Hamilton and so, Bangladesh will need nothing short of a miracle to save the second Test from an in-form kiwi bowling attack.

According to Tamim, it will indeed be a difficult task.

“Obviously I would say it's difficult but anything is possible in cricket as we still have seven wickets in hand. We all have one hope to bat long as we don't have the scope to think about anything else. The most important thing will be if we can play the first session without losing a wicket or even one wicket down, it will be good,” Tamim told reporters yesterday.

Asked how humiliating it would be to lose the second Test after the first two days were washed out, the left-handed opener said: “Obviously, it will feel bad as there was no cricket on the first two days and if the result goes against us, even on the three days of play, obviously it will feel bad. If I say I won't feel bad that will be a lie. We are still not thinking about losing as the game is still not finished yet."