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It took only 49 minutes on the final day of the first Test at Chattogram for Bangladesh to get bundled out for 324 in their second innings to suffer a 188-run defeat to India on Sunday.
Chasing 513 was always an impossible task for them, but an opening stand of 124, where Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 67 and Zakir Hasan became the first Bangladeshi debutant to hit a hundred in the fourth innings, gave them hope.
But another nothing performance from the middle-order left skipper Shakib Al Hasan with an impossible task on the final day, requiring 241 runs with only four wickets in hand.
Shakib came out all guns blazing on the fifth day as he added 10 more runs early in the morning to reach his fifty. But by that time, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was gone, meaning the Tigers had to pull off a miracle to win the match.
Shakib, who was unbeaten on 40 off 69 deliveries at the end of day four, added 44 runs to his tally off 49 balls on Sunday morning, but his attacking play seemed like it would end soon, and it did when he tried to sweep Kuldeep Yadav and saw his stumps rattled for 84.
From there, Bangladesh could add only four runs before losing their remaining two wickets and suffering a 188-run defeat. Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo was expectedly disappointed after the game.
“I am disappointed with the way we unravelled over five days. We showed some good character with the bat yesterday (fourth day). It was pleasing to see, but on this wicket, we shouldn’t have been bowled out for 150. I was a little bit heartbroken after the first innings. I know they are putting in the effort. They are trying hard. They can’t execute in the middle, which is the frustrating thing for me as a coach,” he said in a press conference on Sunday.
Bangladesh will be in concerns over several issues in their team as none of their middle-order batters bar Shakib managed to hit a fifty, one of the key causes behind their mammoth defeat as they only scored 150 in the first innings.
“We wanted to compete. India is a good side but once again, one bad session with the bat destroyed our chance in the match. Four-hundred is a good score but it is manageable in Chattogram. We shouldn’t have been bowled out for 150 in the first innings. The most disappointing thing is the poor decision-making of the batters.
“There’s a lack of confidence in the top-order. They are not managing to find a way to get out of the slump. There’s a whole host of players in the top five or six that haven’t played well or been as consistent as I had hoped,” the Bangaldesh head coach said after the match.
Bangladesh tried out Yasir Ali Chowdhury, a middle-order batter, at number 3, a gamble which did not pay off as the batter could only manage nine runs combined in two innings.
Domingo left his batting position in the clouds ahead of the second Test.
“We wanted to get a right-hander into the top-order. He (Yasir) did well in a couple of Tests in New Zealand. He looks to score, which is why he batted at No 3. We couldn’t bat Shakib, Mushfiq, Litton or Sohan. If there’s a good place to bat up the order it would be in Chattogram,” he said in a press conference on Sunday. There are also concerns about the fitness of Shakib, who bowled only 12 overs in the first innings and could not in the second.
Domingo hinted that Shakib could play only as a batter in the second Test.
“He could play as a batter. Obviously, he didn’t bowl enough overs. He is still struggling with his shoulder and (ribcage) bruising. It leaves a bit vulnerable with four bowlers.
“I am not 100 per cent sure if he’d be able to bowl. He is definitely available to play as a batter, which is an issue for us. We need an allrounder,” Domingo said.
