Intense Tigers brace for tough Test
The Bangladesh team practised under sunny skies at the Holkar Stadium in Indore yesterday and the focus had shifted to red-ball cricket with the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad getting into Test gear. There was an intensity about the Tigers yesterday, which perhaps had to do with the realisation of how difficult their task would be to contend with India when the two-Test series starts with the Indore Test from November 14.
The mood was best exemplified by an exchange between Shadman Islam and head coach Russel Domingo, who was delivering throwdowns to the left-handed opener. Suddenly, one turned into a beamer and Shadman did well to get out of the way. Domingo raised his hand to apologise and Shadman nodded. Domingo shook his head, disappointed. A scene like that would bring laughter and smiles but no smiles this time. It was all business.
At the start of the day, batting coach Neil Mckenzie got into gear as well, doing some stretches before heading to the nets for his first ever consultancy session with the Test side had a very active session with inputs for the batsmen. McKenzie is officially Bangladesh’s limited-overs batting consultant, but he will also be performing red-ball duties for the Tigers on the tour of India. Initially appointed till the 2019 World Cup in July last year, McKenzie was one of the few coaches that survived Bangladesh’s eighth place finish in the global showpiece in July this year.
The Holkar wicket has a hard surface but it is thought that batting will become easier as the Test progresses, with spinners getting to playing a more important role. The only Test played here saw India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bag 13 wickets as India thrashed New Zealand in 2016.
Even South Africa were heavily thrashed in the recently-concluded Test series and there should be no illusions about the strength of India’s bowling unit. Mckenzie had plenty of advice on how to go about things.
Standing right behind the wicket, in the umpire’s position so to speak, he would come around and talk to the batsman after every few deliveries during the net session. He was seen discussing how to set up the back foot and the stance to Mahmudullah while the right-hander was facing Taijul Islam and Nayeem Hasan at the nets.
Mushfiqur Rahim had faced Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed and a net bowler in the morning session. He too was seen coming back to the nets again to consult with Mckenzie.
Asked about how things were progressing, Mohammad Mithun informed that technique was the focus for Mckenzie.
“We all know how strong their [India] bowling lineup is. We are especially thinking about how to face up to their spinners,” the batsman said during a press conference yesterday.
“We feel that it would be harder to contend with the spinners rather than the pacers,” he said.
“The spinners will start getting more purchase from Day Three, so we were working on the technical aspects to deal with that scenario,” Mithun added.
Test cricket is serious business and India’s strength at home is not unknown. A challenge bigger than the T20I series – which the Tigers lost 2-1 -- awaits and a transformation was in order.
“No team has been comfortable in India. We are not focusing on their weaknesses, but on our strengths. We’re disappointed by the T20 series but we are now focused about doing well in the Tests,” Mithun said.
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