Mominul eager to learn lessons from Indore
Ahead of the second Test against India -- a day-night affair with a pink ball to start from today -- Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque wanted to correct the mistakes that undid his team during the first Test in Indore.
The lack of preparation leading up to the first Test had brought Bangladesh’s mentality in the longest format under question. Bundled out twice inside three days for scores of 150 and 213 and suffering an innings defeat showed the gulf between the two countries in experience and ability. Bangladesh have played Test cricket for 19 years but there was a lack of comprehension about what was needed in the longest and the hardest format of the game.
Bangladesh’s batsmen lacked footwork against the moving ball. Most found things uncomfortable, with technical flaws coming to the fore, while others lacked the patience to grind things out. Mominul did not want to take the pressure of losing the first match on his shoulders before the historic Test in Kolkata.
‘When you are all set to play another match, you can’t think much about the previous match, whether you won or lost,” he told reporters during a press conference yesterday.
One of the missteps in Indore was not picking more than two seamers on a pitch that offered extra seam movement. Their reliance on an extra batsman in the squad to compensate for an inconsistent top order away from home also did not pay off.
“Whatever the result was in the previous match, win or lose, you can take lessons to focus on for the next match. I hope we will learn from our mistakes from the previous match and will work on the lessons,” he said.
However, in the pink-ball Test, Bangladesh’s problems could turn out to be more acute. It is difficult to argue against the lack of preparations ahead of the second Test. Mominul said that the first Test held some positives and that they needed proper shot selection to bat longer against a formidable pace attack.
“[Abu Jayed] Rahi and Ebadot [Hossain] bowled well in Indore. Mushfiqur [Rahim] did well in both the innings. We could not put on big partnerships. We had small partnerships but we need partnerships like 100, 150, 200.
“There are some worries about our shot selection. We need to be more focused for that. We needed to be mentally strong and needed to be more prepared. They have three very good pacers and we need to be patient against them.”
Preparation was still a factor for the pink ball with India captain Virat Kohli saying ‘you can’t just, two days before you get on a plane, say “play a pink ball Test” in a week’s time’. That was essentially what happened to the Tigers.
“We didn’t play any practice match ahead of the tour. There was none for the pink-ball match as well. We are focusing on our mental preparation. Of course, there should have been a practice match,” Mominul said, pointing out that the time they got at the nets was inadequate to prepare for a real match.
EVENT FLOW
- The ceremony begins with a Police band show.
- Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walk out to the ground and introduced to the teams.
- Toss with the ceremonial gold coin at 1:00 pm (BD time)
- Teams line up for national anthem
- Eden Bell is rung by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in presence of BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, BCB President Nazmul Hassan and Sachin Tendulkar and other dignitaries.
- Game begins at 1:30pm (BD Time)
SUPPER BREAK
- A show with former Indian superstars including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev.
TEA BREAK
- Instrumental by Sorendu and group.
- Lap of honour with former captains and other sportspersons.
POST MATCH
- Performance by Runa Laila
- Felicitation of players by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
- Speeches by the dignitaries
- Cultural programme by Jeet Ganguly
Comments