By Priscilla Jepchumba
In the first Test in Chennai, India emerged victorious over Bangladesh defeating them by 280 runs. During Bangladesh’s second innings, Indian batting sensation Virat Kohli was spotted making a humorous gesture that has since gone viral on social media. Since then, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has since expressed his discontent with his team’s batting challenges.
Bangladesh problems were evident from the begin, when it started with a top order collapse in the first innings. Shanto himself has admitted the team’s shortcomings, especially the lack of a strong top-order showing in the first innings.
“We didn’t beat well in the first innings,” Shanto admitted. “It was a very crucial phase of the game. We could have been in a better position if we had at least one big top-order partnership. “
In spite of heroic endeavor from the openers in the second innings, Bangladesh could not recover from their early collapse. Shanto, who scored his first Fifty in an 11-inning Test, believes he could have done better than that. He said that was usually how he batted in those type of conditions. He went on to say that he thought everyone had different strategies and that he was certain about his own.
He remarked, “We are working towards it, but we are not getting the desired results.”
On the second innings, Bangladesh’s openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam put on a 62-run partnership, showing their ability to lay a strong foundation. However, the bright spot did not last long as Jasprit Bumrah ended the defiant stand to send back Zakir for 33.
It was agreed by batting coach David Hemp that the openers needed to be consistent. He insisted that they will keep on practicing even as the establishing themselves”
Bangladesh’s batting performance will need to significantly improve in order to challenge India’s dominance going forward when the series moves to Kanpur. The stability of the opening partnership and Shanto’s form will be critical components in their attempt to recover.
While the defeat is a setback for Bangladesh, India’s victory was its 179th in Test history, with 178 defeats from a total of 581 matches.
