A curious ebb and flow of inspiration

Fast bowler Ebadot Hossain mentioned that Bangladesh team, preparing to embark for a two-match Test series against hosts South Africa from March 31, are oozing with confidence following their unprecedented fifty-over series win against the Proteas at their den.   

Yesterday, after the Tigers honed their skills at the Chatsworth Cricket Oval in Durban, Ebadot spoke with a positive intent, in terms of overall preparation and the imminent challenges ahead.

"Beating South Africa [in the ODIs] here was extremely difficult. The thing is, after such a win, our confidence have greatly boosted.

"And with this boost of confidence, we want to approach the Test match," said the lad from Sylhet, who might as well still be basking from the heroic display which brought Bangladesh a famous victory in the Mount Maunganui Test in New Zealand, earlier this year.

Quite interestingly, Ebadot, and his Test teammates by extrapolation, are drawing inspiration from a different genre of the game which yielded white-ball success of late. It's understandable though, given the Tigers are yet to win a Test match, but no longer remain winless across all formats, away in South Africa.

Also, there is a pattern carried forward, resembling how Tamim Iqbal, captain of the ODI side, previously mentioned that his white-ball troops were banking on the historic red-ball success in New Zealand for inspiration.   

"We don't have a great record in South Africa but records can change and a great example is our Test win in New Zealand,'' Tamim told reporters on March 9, prior to the ODI series against the Proteas.

 "We turned things around there [in New Zealand] after many years. I'm hopeful this team will force the same change [in South Africa]. Belief makes a big difference," Tamim had said.

And Tamim and his troops did, indeed, turn things around, and in style, as the Tigers edged the Proteas by 2-1 in the three-match series after completely grabbing the series-deciding game by the scruff of neck, courtesy of a sensational quick bowling by Taskin Ahmed.    

No doubt, despite the similarities, Test cricket and one-dayers are a completely different ball-game, often poles apart, however, what Ebadot and, before him, Tamim said gives the impression that this current Bangladesh contingent are evolving in crucial areas, more than what meets the eye, concerning the fundamental aspects of the game of cricket, shared by all formats.

As the Tigers keep creating history one by one, and now if the trend continues, it will be interesting to see where Bangladesh players end up extracting inspiration ahead of their next assignment following the South Africa tour.