Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha rued his team’s defeat in the truncated Kanpur Test, lauding India’s approach in the fixture. A batting collapse on the fifth day saw Bangladesh suffer a seven-wicket defeat in a game which lasted only 173.2 overs – the fourth-shortest match in Test history.
Bangladesh hoped to bat for a long period of time to save the game but they only lasted one session on Tuesday (October 1). In a 21-minute period, they lost skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shadman Islam, Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das.
“The defeat is really hurting us in terms of our performance. (India’s approach) was really not seen before. All credit to Rohit and the Indian team for coming up with that approach, and making a match of it. We actually didn’t react quick enough (to India’s approach),” Hathurusingha said.
“Batting was disappointing in this series. Some players did well in the last series. We have not been performing to our potential in the last few series. One reason for the batting was the quality of the opposition. The skill level in display in this series was very high. We are taking a lot of learnings from this. This is the best team. Playing India in India is the toughest assignment. We know how much we need to improve,” he added. Bangladesh arrived in India at the back of a historic series win in Pakistan but Hathurusingha admitted that they knew of the steep challenge awaiting them in India.
“We came here after beating Pakistan but we knew that the challenges will be steep in India. It won’t be a good thing if I attach our feeling into our performance. We didn’t get too high on ourselves for winning in Pakistan, so we shouldn’t go down too much after this result. We knew what we did well to win in Pakistan and we know what we couldn’t do here to compete with these guys,” he opined.
“I think we were completely outplayed in this series. I saw the difference in skill levels, so we need to improve. Having said that, we didn’t play to our best potential. We are disappointed with it. There’s no point putting pressure on every individual player and their every decision in the middle, if we are not getting the right support,” he added.
The head coach however, defended the captain’s decision to attempt a reverse sweep against Ravindra Jadeja and get bowled. “It is individual and team plan as well. We are playing on a spinning wicket. If the defense is getting challenged, it is a strategy to play the reverse sweep if you have practiced hard on the shot,” he said.
“We didn’t talk about survival. We thought of playing according to the conditions and strength of the individuals. If you defend and get caught at bat-pad, it is the same when getting out sweeping on a wicket like this. If the batter thinks his best form of defense or getting off strike, is a sweep shot rather than the defensive shot, that’s his option. Execution probably let us down in this innings. If you look at Mominul yesterday, he swept really well,” he added, revealing disappointment within the dressing room with the decision-making in the middle.
“I am sure they are disappointed at some of the dismissals and the decision-making. What stands out for me is that we lost a wicket when there’s been a bowling change. We didn’t give ourselves enough time to get used to the new bowler,” he said.
The head coach couldn’t provide clarity over whether Shakib has already played his last Test. The star all-rounder has sought security assurance for the home Tests against South Africa before committing to featuring in that series.
“I haven’t heard anything to say that this is the last time (that Shakib is playing). As far as I know, he is playing the South Africa series,” Hathurusingha said. “I think succession plans are always there, especially at this stage of his career. We are all surprised that he said that (South Africa) is his last series. You are not getting like-for-like replacement for someone like Shakib.”
