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Bangladesh National Cricket Team will look for their first Test win at home since 2020 as they take on Ireland in the one-off Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka today.
Ahead of the series, Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz said that they will hope to continue the aggressive intent they showed in the white-ball matches against Ireland.
Bangladesh’s home record in the red-ball format at home in recent times has not been successful as they have lost seven out of their last eight matches at home since their win over Zimbabwe in 2020.
In their last home Test, they were narrowly beaten by India as the Tigers lost by three wickets after coming close.
However, against Ireland, Bangladesh will take the field as the favourites as the visitors are playing their first Test since 2019, and they only have played three Tests in their history.
There will be several debuts for the Irish today, and their skipper Andrew Balbirnie jokingly mentioned that they would do a ceremony on Monday night because it would take a long time to do on the matchday.
“We are going to have a bit of a get-together tonight to do some presentations. I think if we do it in the morning, it will take too long,” he said.
On the other hand, Bangladesh are aiming at approaching with an attacking mindset to find their first win while facing a team for the first time in Tests.
Their new approach reaped benefits in white-ball cricket and Miraz said that they would try to keep that up.
“Everyone plays attacking in Test cricket so we will try to keep the same mentality as we shift from white to red ball. Scoring runs is important regardless of the colour of the ball. Everything depends on the mindset.
“The sooner we can change our mind setup, we can adjust faster. Whether a batter is scoring hundreds or 150s, or a bowler takes wickets, that’s what matters. We have to adjust quickly between formats, sometimes within two or three days,” he said in the pre-match press conference on Monday.
Bangladesh, though, suffered an injury blow right before the match as pacer Taskin Ahmed was ruled out due to a side strain. This will ensure that Bangladesh will have at least three changes from their last Test against India.
Tamim Iqbal has returned and he will play at the top, likely partnered with Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who will come in place of the injured Zakir Hasan. Taskin’s injury means Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury will replace him.
Bangladesh will only be ringing changes which were forced, proof of Miraz’s words, where he said that they were not taking Ireland lightly.
“Maybe we are more experienced compared to Ireland. We will try to win. International cricket is international cricket. The feeling is the same whether you play the number one team or the number 10 team.
“We are all serious. It’s not that we are very serious against India and less focused against Ireland. Maybe the confidence fluctuates. But that happens, it’s a psychological thing. There are some confusions when you play such a team but that sometimes makes you more focused,” the all-rounder said.
For Ireland, the goal is simple – registering their first-ever win in the format. However, their skipper understood that it would be difficult against Bangladesh playing in Dhaka.
“I don’t want to say that we want to win the Test. We want to compete for as long as we can. Naturally, you want to be part of the Irish team that wins their first Test but we have to play well for long periods of time. It is a big challenge to sustain that for as long as possible. When we do get the chance, we can capitalise,” Balbirnie said.
The pitch at the SBNCS was seen with some grass on Monday, which would inspire the Irish but they already know the prowess of the Bangladesh pace attack, who haunted them in the white-ball matches.
While Taskin will be a big miss, the rest are good enough as Miraz tagged all the Bangladesh pacers as world-class.
“Fast bowlers have an important role. Their performance changes the scenario of the team. When they stepped up in ODIs and T20Is, we became a stronger unit. They have a huge role in Tests, particularly when they can strike with two or three wickets with the new ball. It puts the batting side under pressure. Our fast bowlers are doing well. They are world-class. Seeing how the wicket is, I am sure there will be discussions about playing more fast bowlers,” the all-rounder said.
