Bangladesh Test captain Shakib Al Hasan said on Sunday (December 25) that he is not happy with his team’s catching that let them down in the second Test of the two-match Test series against India. However, dropped catches were one of the reasons in Bangladesh’s Tests as India registered a three-wicket win over the hosts to win in the two-match Test series part of the ICC Test Championship as well.
Notably, Bangladesh dropped three catches and an easy stumping while Mominul Haque dropped an easy catch of R Ashwin at forward short-leg when he failed to understand the delivery of Mehidy Hasan Miraz. The hosts were on top until that dropped catch proved costly as Ashwin (42 not out) added an undefeated 71-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer and sealed the deal.
“It is slightly disappointing (missing catches). Other teams don’t miss the chances that we are missing. They made the difference. We could have bowled them out for 250 instead of 314 (in the first innings). There was a chance in the second innings, but it is part of cricket,” Shakib Al Hasan told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday. “We fielded well in the T20 World Cup. We fielded well in the ODI series, but we couldn’t do it in the Test match. Maybe due to lack of concentration or fitness.”
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“We have to find out how to better concentrate for longer, and avoid making mistakes. Other teams don’t give so many opportunities. We miss regulation stuff. Our bowlers have to create 13-14 chances to take 10 wickets. Other teams have to create nine chances to take 10 wickets,” he further added.
Although Shakib Al Hasan was disappointed with the fielding, he added that he is happy with the overall performance and mentality of the team as well. The captain also gave the credit to the Indian lower order for handling the pressure so well and managing to reach the finish line.
“I think Ashwin and Iyer both batted well on a pitch that wasn’t easy. Credit to them. I think we tried in every which way. We fell slightly short, somehow. There’s no regret. I think we fought well in the whole Test. If we continue having this mentality in future Tests, we will get better results. There’s regret not winning a close match but at least we are getting close. Hopefully next year there’ll be a better result next year. We have 3-5 Tests in 2023. I expect to win all three series, considering the teams we will be playing,” he again shared.
However, Bangladesh will play five Test matches in 2023 against Ireland, Afghanistan and New Zealand respectively and all of them are going to be home fixtures. And, the captain stated that though he is not regularly playing first-class cricket, if Bangladesh wants to improve in the longer format they need to introduce more first-class matches as well.
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“We need to introduce more first-class matches to do seriously well in Tests. A player with 50-70 first-class matches is a lot different than someone who has played 8 or 10 first-class matches. I am sure most of the Indian players have more than 100 first-class matches under their belt. I don’t play domestic cricket for a long time, but even those who are playing, how many do they play? They will need 10 years to reach 80 first-class matches. If we could have done that in five years, we may have better Test players,” Shakib Al Hasan concluded.
